United Medical Institute

Complaint Themes

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts & Payment

• Phone: (916) 334-5118 1 complaint mentions this number
• Website: https://www.unitedmedicalinstitute.edu/
• Email: [email protected]
• UMI Payment Plans enrollment form: https://airtable.com/appeRvQVvZdVodypa/shrE49BbXRexoeZGT

Locations

About United Medical Institute

United Medical Institute (UMI), legally United Medical Institute Corp, is a private postsecondary school founded in 2006 that trains students for careers in diagnostic medical sonography (ultrasound). Its core offering, an Associate of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, has been its flagship program since 2009; it has since added Bachelor's degree-completion programs in sonography and cardiovascular sonography.

UMI's California regulatory address on file with BPPE and DEAC is 5750 Sunrise Blvd, Suite 105, Citrus Heights, CA 95610, though the school's own current website separately lists a Fair Oaks, CA address as its "California Regional/Institutional Administrative Office" — see the note on that discrepancy below. UMI expanded to a Mesa, Arizona campus in 2023 and has since added a location in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Dr. Inna Lisker has served as President and CEO since 2018.

UMI holds an active approval to operate from the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE license #90323820) and, since 2023, institutional accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and CHEA.

Is United Medical Institute Legitimate?

UMI's core regulatory record checks out with the industry's actual regulator, though the full public record includes more enforcement history than a first look suggests. The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) lists an active approval to operate under license #90323820, and UMI's own site states it holds institutional accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), renewed through January 2031 as of a February 2026 action — confirmed directly in DEAC's live public directory, which currently lists UMI as "Accredited." DEAC is a USDE/CHEA-recognized accreditor. UMI's own FAQ states it does not hold programmatic (subject-specific) accreditation such as CAAHEP — a distinction directly relevant to the certification/job-placement complaints described below, since programmatic accreditation is what some employers and ARDMS pathways specifically look for, separate from an institution being accredited overall.

UMI is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau. BBB lists it with an A+ rating and currently shows 0 customer reviews and 0 complaints. BBB's own profile names two people in management roles — Ms. Galina Ayzenberg (President/CEO) and Dr. Inna Lisker (President) — while UMI's own site describes Dr. Lisker as President and CEO since 2018; this research did not resolve that discrepancy. BBB's profile also lists an address of 5280 Auburn Blvd, Sacramento, which appears to be outdated: BPPE's 2024 annual report, DEAC's directory, and a live Yelp listing (marked "Unclaimed," no aggregate rating) all currently show 5750 Sunrise Blvd, Suite 105, Citrus Heights instead. Separately, UMI's own current website lists a different California address, 5330 Primrose Dr. #137, Fair Oaks, as its "California Regional/Institutional Administrative Office" — prospective students should confirm the correct in-person location directly with the school. UMI's Arizona and Florida state licensing claims (Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education; Florida Commission for Independent Education) are stated on UMI's own site; this research did not independently confirm either against the respective state regulator's database.

Separately, at least two former students — in complaints filed 14 years apart, in 2010 and January 2024 — have alleged UMI misrepresented whether its program's certification would let graduates sit for ARDMS specialty exams or find hospital/clinic employment immediately after completing the program. Weighed against that: BPPE's own 2024 reporting for UMI's Diploma Diagnostic Medical Sonography program shows 43 credentials awarded, 37 of 53 students graduating on time, and 24 of 27 graduates available for employment reported employed in the field (an 88.89% placement rate among that group) — official regulatory data, not UMI's own marketing claim, though it reflects one specific program and reporting year, not a guarantee for any individual student. See the complaint summary below for the individual allegations; these are not independently adjudicated findings.

What Former Students Have Alleged

Two former students, in complaints filed roughly 14 years apart, have made similar allegations against UMI's Sacramento/Citrus Heights sonography program:

• A February 2010 complaint (also posted to this site; the same complaint also appears on ComplaintsBoard.com) alleges the student was told they were eligible to sit for ARDMS specialty exams on completing the roughly 18-month, then-around-$30,000 program, but discovered afterward that the certification required a full year of employment first, and that hospitals and clinics did not recognize the school's certification for hiring purposes. The ComplaintsBoard listing shows this complaint marked administratively "resolved," though several commenters on that thread disputed details of the original account.
• A January 2024 review on ComplaintsBoard alleges the reviewer was left with a $40,000 loan and no job after completing the program, citing inadequate exam preparation, no help finding an externship, and hospitals declining to work with UMI graduates once they learned the applicant's school.

These are individual complainants' allegations, not independently verified findings, and the sample size is two documented accounts across 14 years - not evidence of a large or continuous pattern.

How to Verify UMI or File a Complaint

Before enrolling or sending payment, prospective students can independently check UMI's standing through the actual regulators, rather than relying on the school's own claims:

• California BPPE: confirm the school's approval-to-operate status directly at the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, referencing license #90323820. BPPE also accepts student complaints against California-approved private postsecondary schools.
• DEAC accreditation: confirm current accreditation status in DEAC's own directory of accredited institutions.
• Payment caution: UMI's tuition-policies page links to a payment-plan enrollment form hosted on Airtable (a third-party form platform) rather than a payment page on UMI's own domain. Confirm you reached it by clicking through from unitedmedicalinstitute.edu itself, not from a search result or an email link, before entering any financial information.
• If you believe UMI misrepresented its accreditation or job-placement outcomes to you specifically, BPPE's complaint process is the most direct regulatory route for a California-licensed postsecondary school.

BPPE Regulatory Enforcement History

California's BPPE has cited UMI (license #90323820) three times since 2018, and all three matters are now closed with BPPE's status showing the school compliant:

• 2018: Citation No. 1718033 (issued May 9, 2018) assessed a $5,500 fine; the school submitted evidence of compliance and the matter was closed January 23, 2019.
• 2020: Citation No. 1920296, appealed and modified on September 4, 2020, found that UMI had failed to properly calculate pro-rata refunds for two students (miscalculating program hours, resulting in incorrect refunds) and that an enrollment agreement omitted required third-party textbook costs. The modified fine totaled $1,500; UMI paid it and submitted proof of compliance, and BPPE closed the matter as resolved on October 8, 2020.
• 2026: A March 2026 BPPE inspection found several disclosure issues: an incomplete schedule of total charges, refund-policy and enrollment-agreement wording that didn't fully state students' cancellation rights, outdated STRF (Student Tuition Recovery Fund) disclosures, incomplete STRF reporting for Q2/Q3 2025, and an outdated catalog version on the school's site. BPPE categorized these as minor violations; its listed result is "Notice to Comply Issued — Compliant," meaning the issues were identified and the school subsequently demonstrated compliance, not an open or ongoing violation.

None of these BPPE actions relate to the ARDMS/job-placement allegations described elsewhere on this page — they concern administrative disclosure and refund-calculation requirements. Prospective students can review BPPE's enforcement and annual-report records directly using license #90323820.

Company Relationships

• Affiliated with: UMI Community Imaging Clinic

Frequently Asked Questions