ANNOUNCEMENT!
For all the EDS students who has enrolled with AHUSC MBA or DBA program, kindly contact EDS Head Office or email to Dr Ben Lee at eds.biz.school@gmail.com for further arrangement to complete your studies and earn your respective degree without interruption.
October 27, 2011
The Officer in Charge
Enforcement Complaints & Investigations Unit
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400
Sacramento, CA 95833
Telephone: (916) 431-6959
Dear Sir,
American Heritage University of Southern California
Acts in Dishonorable and Unethical Manner toward Its Students
Background
EDS Business School (EDS), Malaysia, entered a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with American Heritage University of Southern California (AHU) on March 25, 2006. The MoA included the primary terms and conditions related to the delivery of AHU programs by EDS and management of the operations of those programs. Dr. Ben Lee, CEO of EDS was placed in charge of the oversight of the cooperative EDS-AHU programs, being formally appointed as Regional Admissions Director (Asia and Southeast Asia) and later as Vice President for Asia-Pacific in connection with the MoA. Student tuition and fees we clearly established by the MoA and later certified by signed financial reports between the MoA partners. EDS operated carefully by those understandings. AHU imposed new tuition and fee structures upon its students after their registration in the AHU-EDS programs.
Issue #1:Without prior notice, on August 6, 2011, five years into operation under the signed MoA, AHU unexpectedly issued EDS a bill imposing two new additional post-enrollment fees upon all students under the MoA, differing widely from what students were lead to believe and had paid since the start of the MoA. Originally, students were to make a small initial payment toward the tuition at the point of enrollment, with the remainder, due and payable upon the student’s completion of the program. This tuition structure was to include any admission and graduation fees. In the August 6 notice, AHU imposed two new fees on the students: a $100 admission fee, and a $350 added graduation fee (graduation non-attendance fee).
Since the start of EDS collaboration with AHU, in March 25, 2006, AHU had agreed to waive the USD350 fee for non-attendance of graduation. In fact, a signed financial statement clearly stated that fact. The EDS record of transactions from March 25, 2006 to July 31, 2011 reveals that there is no such fee charged to students under the MoA.
Issue #2:
Strangely, AHU is attempting to impose these two new fees upon 96 students who have already earned their degrees and been issued their diplomas by AHU. These graduates were under the administration of EDS and have already completed their AHU programs. It is not logical or ethical for AHU to go back to their graduates and ask them to pay these added fees?
Issue #3:
During 2006, the AHU President sought out financial help from EDS Business School to overcome their cash flow problem. The amount of USD$50,000 was granted to AHU under a written side agreement. In this written agreement, EDS arranged to help AHU at its time of great need and AHU would agree to lower its fees somewhat, as a manner of repayment. Subsequently, the AHU President has fraudulently stated that it does not owe EDS Business School the remaining balance on the loan, an amount of US$47,264. EDS has presented accurate records clarifying its valid claim. AHU continues to ignore the validity of this debt and disavows its responsibility for the remaining loan balance.
Vitally important to mention is that these new student fees, unethically imposed, also relate to 262 currently enrolled students at EDS Business School who entrée their programs under the EDS-AHU MoA. Additionally, the failure on the part of AHU to continue the MoA in full has repercussions for currently enrolled 262 students, since EDS via the loan, prepaid student tuition, which was to be applied as future students enrolled at EDS under the MoA. If the current students are to have post-registration fees imposed in addition to their tuition billing, this would be an unfair assessment, since all students were quoted full tuition under the original MoA.
To validate the legitimacy of the EDS claims regarding the AHU loan repayment status and the MoA fee structures, EDS Business School proposes to AHU President that AHU and EDS collectively appoint a forensic accounting firm such as KPMG to audit the AHU-EDS transactions. These forensic auditors are welcome to come to Penang, Malaysia to audit the EDS accounts. If the EDS claim is proven correct, AHU will be responsible for all this accounting cost and travel expenses, and refund to EDS Business School the outstanding amount due of US$47,264. However, if EDS accounts is incorrect, EDS will responsible to pay for the services of the auditors and traveling expenses and assume whatever accurate debt is discovered. EDS Business School views this proposal as a fair and equitable solution to our irreconcilable differences. We ask that AHU accept this offer, as a viable solution to this very grave conflict.
Please feel free to contact me at anytime should you need further information or clarification. My mobile phone number is +60164462200.
Sincerely,
Ben Lee, PhD
CEO & Founder
EDS Business School
AFFIDAVITS
Affidavit 1Certificate of Appointment as AHU Regional Admission Director (Asia and Southeast Asia) dated 27 March 2006
Affidavit 2
Certificate of Appointment as AHU VP Asia Pacific, 20 April 2009Affidavit 3This affidavit certifies that Dr Ben Lee was officially appointed as the AHU Vice President. This action was witnessed by a top administrative official of Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam.
Affidavit 4AAn email from AHU Accounts Department dated 6 August 2011, arbitrarily imposes two new additional student fees that are post-enrollment, and not included in the EDS-AHU MoA, any signed MoA Addendum, and never cited to EDU-AHU students enrolled under the MoA
Affidavit 4BAn email which shows that AHU has imposed two additional fees on EDS-AHU students who have already completed their programs and received the AHU diploma and transcript.
Affidavit 5This document dated 12 Nov 2007 signed and certified by the AHU President is evidence which powerfully supports the EDS claim that AHU had agreed to a student tuition and fee structure as per the Clause 5 of the original document and differing from the newly imposed fee structure. This document also summarizes the EDS-AHU financial transactions from 25 March 2006 through April 2009.
Affidavit 6An EDS-AHU Financial Statement as of 20 April 2009 signed and certified by the AHU President showing the history of transactions between AHU and EDS covering all payments. This financial statement is evidence which supports the EDS claim that AHU had agreed to a student tuition and fee structure, and differing from the AHU newly imposed fee structure.
Affidavit 7An email communication between EDS and AHU President, clarifying that AHU has agreed to the terms for accepting the US$50,000 loan from EDS.
This email communication further supports the EDS claim that AHU agreed to waive the US$350 non-attendance of graduation.
Affidavit 8
This document is an up-to-date EDS-AHU Financial Statement showing the outstanding amount due to EDS to be USD$47,264.00.
Affidavit 9This document presents a listing of 262 EDS-AHU students who have yet to complete their MBA and DBA programs via AHU.
