Few knew of Oikos University prior to Monday's deadly shooting rampage, when a former student allegedly killed seven fellow students and school staffers.
But the school was on the radar of both the Alameda County Superior Court and school licensing officials from the state -- and not for good reasons.
The school's nursing graduates failed nursing exams at "alarming rates," according to the Oakland Tribune, with only 41 percent of graduates from the school passing the exam required to become a nurse. The state average is 75 percent, with an "acceptable" rate at 65 percent -- which means Oikos could be in risk of losing its accreditation, the newspaper reported.
The nursing program at the school was first licensed in 2008, according to the newspaper.
Oikos also advertised offerings of "Asian medicine" among its degrees, but the school had never received the California Acupuncture Board certification.
The nursing program is the school's only licensed educational offering. Oikos offered master's and bachelor's degrees in theology and music, but never applied for accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, according to the newspaper.
And only a "handful" of the 48 students Oikos graduated in 2010 found jobs, and none was earning more than $40,000 a year, the newspaper reported.
The school was sued in Alameda County Superior Court on March 20 by a former employee seeking $75,000 in back pay.
A disgruntled former student, One Goh, 43, allegedly admitted to police that he killed seven people at the school on Monday morning with a .45-caliber handgun.
