The Embry Family: Why We Founded Thessalonika A. Embry University

In 2010, Dr. Thessalonika Embry began attending college at 11 years old. She graduated with a Bachelor in Psychology at 14 years old, an M.B.A. Organizational Leadership and Strategic Foresight at 16 years old, and a Ph.D. in Business and Aviation-related studies at 19 years old. Ten years later in 2024 she operates Thessalonika A. Embry University (TAEU), a DoD Warfighter Institution serving soldiers and civilians. The mission of TAEU is to lead a modernized era of education in which soldiers achieve their academic and career goals by graduating college in a condensed but flexible format.

Meet America's Youngest Accredited University President, Dr. Tessa. At 25 years old, Dr. Thessalonika A. Embry is the youngest accredited university founder of her own institution, Thessalonika A. Embry University-Army (DoD Warfighter Institution serving Fort Carson, Buckley SFB, and Peterson AFB). With an administrative team of five professionals, TAEU offers degree tracks combining both undergraduate and graduate levels of Associate, Bachelor’s, Master, and Doctoral courses in one 210-credit hour distance education track.

Thessalonika A. Embry University retains common authority to operate on U.S. forts, vessels, and installations as a DoD government contractor.

Here's a (not-so-obvious) little secret. Accreditation within the United States is structured to direct the flow of Title IV financial assistance to higher education institutions who have been evaluated by private accrediting agencies subject to federal standards set by Department of Education to rate overall academic quality of colleges and universities. According to Higher EdDrive, "critics have questioned whether the Education Department is slow to restrict poorly performing agencies" (Bauer-Wolf, 2023). Colleges and universities pay over $70,000 in fees to these poorly performing agencies for rating teams to visit the physical campus and observe courses in progress. Raters at the private organizations complete extensive paperwork on how constrictively the universities manage academic honesty, complaints from students, and program length. Universities who follow rules of the private accrediting organizations are able to receive Title IV Funding which includes pell grants for civilians and tuition assistance for military students. Civilians and military students are also eligible to receive federal and private student loans to defer tuition debt until after graduation. However, the processes of accreditation have been weaponized. One of the rules of most regional and national accreditation agencies is that the degree programs at colleges and universities must last for at least 3 years. In March 2022, almost all accreditation agencies in the United States signed an agreement with the American Council on Education (ACENET) to increase institutional rigor to "force students learn more slowly." In other words, students have to work longer and harder, not smarter. Apparently, the higher education industry has been threatened by Generation Z's accelerated learning habits. Young adults and teens born after 2006 are accustomed to speedy browsing habits. They can watch lots of Snapchats and TikTok's really fast and will recall everything they see. Universities have trouble keeping students enrolled because the courses last way too long. Students either dropout or graduate with expensive loads of accumulating debt that even a high-paying job will not cover. TAEU does not receive U.S. Dept. of Education Title IV funding or private student loans. Instead of perpetuating the heavy burdens of student loans, TAEU has successfully combined undergraduate and graduate level academic programs into 12 month degree programs. Instead of going to school for 6 years and spend $180,000 for your education, you can reduce your total tuition to less than 1/10ths at TAEU. Our team at Thessalonika A. Embry University (DoD Warfighter Institution of Fort Carson, CO) have resolved "institutional rigor" problems by forming the National Association of Alternative Military Schools and Colleges (NAAMSC). NAAMSC is a committee that implements modern quality control mechanisms to ensure that our degree programs and curriculums properly serve military students, DoD personnel and civilians. NAAMSC independently supports the mission of the Department of Defense's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Personnel and Readiness (OSUD-PR) in "developing DoD policies, plans, and partnerships to ensure the readiness of the Total Force to execute the National Defense Strategy." Through the NAAMSC, Thessalonika A. Embry University (DoD Warfighter Institution of Fort Carson, CO) is authorized to condense degree program lengths and allow students to complete 210 college credits flexibly over 12 months to complete their Associate, Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate degree in highly specialized fields of study. These degree programs holistically prepare students for the workforce and provides extensive support throughout enrollment at TAEU. NAAMSC identifies, evaluate, and enhance the delivery of quality higher education at TAEU for military and civilian students through an independent peer-evaluation process. For questions about NAAMSC, contact us at fortcarson@taeu.army.