Fred Leeb, Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov and Dov Stein at the MJI construction site
AJI Eyes The Future
College gets new grant of accreditation,
construction under way on new building.
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
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May 1 • 2014
ichigan Jewish Institute
(MJI) received a new grant
of accreditation from the
Accrediting Council for Independent
Colleges and Schools (ACICS), the same
agency which has provided accreditation
to MJI since 1997.
The accreditation renewal, which is
valid through December 2017, will allow
MJI to continue its mission of providing
career-oriented degrees through quality
online and on-site courses available to
students all over the world.
The school's accreditation process
had made national news. Last Sept. 27,
the New York-based Forward newspa-
per published an article claiming the
MJI could lose its accredidation and be
forced to close because, among other
charges, a large number of its American
students were receiving U.S. government
Pell Grants, studying half-time at yeshi-
vot in Israel and not graduating MJI.
The Detroit Jewish News published a
cover story on Oct. 24 wherein the MJI
charged the Forward story contained
"inaccuracies and misrepresentations"
and, indeed, the JN story reached differ-
ent conclusions than the Forward's.With
its renewed accredidation, MJI appears
to have been vindicated.
Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov, president of
MJI, said the accreditation process used
by ACICS is very thorough; includ-
ing on-site visits and a comprehensive
review of course offerings, content,
faculty and other factors. About 1,000
schools nationwide receive accreditation
through ACICS, which focuses on career-
oriented institutions such as MJI.
The nonprofit college currently offers
bachelor of applied science degrees in
Judaic studies, business studies and
information systems, and computer
information systems, as well as a cer-
tificate program in Talmudic law and
jurisprudence.
Dov Stein, director of academic
administration, said the number of MJI
graduates has risen steadily in the last
few years and would continue.
"Since our inception, we have been
affording Jewish students around the
world an opportunity for a practical and
affordable education, and the renewal of
our accreditation will allow us to contin-
ue offering quality programs:' Stein said.
The renewed accreditation ties in with
the new MJI building currently under
construction in West Bloomfield, next to
The Shul on Maple Road between Drake
and Halstead. Currently, close to 2,000
students are enrolled this semester, with
the majority participating in courses
online. The new building will allow the
opportunity for increased on-site enroll-
ment, which is one of the college's goals.
According to Fred Leeb, chief operat-
ing officer for MJI, the new building
will be a contemporary three-floor,
16,000-square-foot facility that will cen-
tralize operations for the organization.
The main floor will feature a spacious
glass entranceway, a large welcoming
open space for use by students and fac-
ulty, a well-stocked library, a computer
area and conference rooms. The class-
rooms will be located in the lower level
and the third floor will house the admin-
istrative offices.
MJI currently utilizes classroom sites
located throughout Metro Detroit. The
two principal locations are The Shul's
Jack and Miriam Shenkman build-
ing in West Bloomfield, which also
serves as MJI's main campus, and the
Specs Howard Broadcasting building in
Southfield, which houses the administra-
tive offices. The new facility will allow
MJI staff to consolidate all of its office
space, although it will retain its other
classroom locations.
"The building will allow us to imple-
ment plans to better serve local stu-
dents:' Shemtov said. "For the past five
years, we've had wonderful growth inter-
nationally and online; now we're ready to
expand our focus locally"
Leeb said the building, which broke
ground last year, is expected to be com-
pleted during the first quarter of 2015.
Shemtov said. "We hope it will be an
educational resource as well as a beacon
of light for the Jewish community"
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