International Technological University

History

International Technological University (ITU) was founded in 1994 by Professor Shu-Park Chan, previously a professor and interim dean of the School of Engineering at Santa Clara University. Chan retired early from Santa Clara in 1992 to found ITU two years later. In 2011, upon Shu-Park Chan’s retirement, the Board of Trustees elected his son Yau-Gene Chan, previously Executive Vice-President, to the ITU presidency. Following the WASC special investigation into Third Party Comments in February 2015, the Board of Trustees removed Chan and appointed Dr. Gregory O'Brien as the new President of ITU.

ITU moved to its current campus in Downtown San Jose in April 2011, from its original location in Sunnyvale. In 2014, it was announced that ITU would move to a new 76,568 square foot facility on 2711 North First Street, San Jose. The move is scheduled to take place in April 2015.

Accreditation

ITU is institutionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as of February 22, 2013. Previously, ITU was accredited by ACICS from July 1, 2001 to December 31, 2004, according to the US DoE Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.

Academics

ITU offers seven master's degree programs and three doctoral programs in six academic departments:

Business Administration

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Digital Arts

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Engineering Management

Interdisciplinary Sciences

All of the master's programs require a total of 36 credits to complete, including four core courses and a capstone or thesis course. All of the doctoral programs require 60 credits to complete.

Campus

ITU is located in a two-story, 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m²) building in downtown San Jose, the central business district of San Jose, California. Facilities include classrooms, a student lounge, a basketball court, and faculty offices.

University laboratories

The university operates laboratories in the following areas: Artificial Intelligence/Robotics, Green Energy, and Bioelectronics staffed by faculty and graduate students of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE). The SAP Laboratory operated by the Department of Business Administration, serves as an SAP training center for the region. ITU is a member of the SAP University Alliance Program. The University also operates a joint laboratory with Peking University’s School of Software and Microelectronics through its Artificial Intelligence/Robotics Laboratory.

New Campus in North San Jose

In 2014, it was announced that ITU would move from its Downtown San Jose location to a new facility, on 2711 North First Street. The building is approximately three times the size of ITU's current location, and the university will begin the move in April 2015. The new building will have a 300-seat lecture hall, gym, yoga studio, research labs, as well as additional classrooms and faculty offices.

Enrollment practices

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that after its near-bankruptcy, ITU began to promise international students the opportunity to work full-time jobs immediately upon arrival. It became popular in online Indian student forums as a good place to extend a student visa or get a job. In March 2011, enrollment increased to 1500 students, 94% of which were Indian. ITU has been criticized for attracting unknowing international students when its accreditation and credit transfer policy are questionable. The Chronicle noted that ITU's provost Gerald A. Cory was paid $445,832 in 2009, which was noted as an unusually high salary.