Sweetwater school district to team with Alliant University?

Sweetwater Union High School District superintendent Ed Brand will be bringing another university plan to the board of trustees on May 13.

In January of this year, the district made a controversial agreement with the for-profit, religious Grand Canyon University. On Monday, Brand will ask the board to vote on another agreement with Alliant University.

The surprising thing is that in advance of the board meeting, as if assured of three trustee votes, a YouTube advertisement has already been posted melding the names of Alliant University and Sweetwater.

The approval item on Monday’s agenda states: “Alliant International University, an accredited university with a long history of success in addressing the needs of multicultural students, has joined us in developing a partnership that will offer a four-year university program with guaranteed admission to the SUHSD students while sharing our facilities. Alliant International University has locations around the state, including the San Francisco Law School and satellites campuses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Mexico City.”

As the document states, the “university” will be housed on Sweetwater property. Several sources have indicated one of the adult-education campuses will be closed to make way for the campus. According to a director in the district, directors will be offered an opportunity to teach at the university; at a recent meeting, they were also told to recruit at least one student.

The internet site LinkedIn shows that Brand attended Alliant from 1971–1983.

Fifty varied student reviews of Alliant University can also be found online. The student who attended the campus in Mexico found the experience “amazing”; the students in San Diego were less positive. One posted: “Alliant was the worst decision I made in my life. It costs so much for nothing and I will be in debt for a very long time.”