[3] The university is approved by the BPPE (Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education) to grant bachelors, master's, and doctoral degrees, and certificates.

[8] However, publication Christianity Today alleges that IBT Media has a close relationship both with Olivet and with its founder, controversial[8][9] evangelical pastor David J. Jang.

[15] The college was intended to train ministers for Jang's denomination, but eventually functioned more as a "seedbed" for mission, offering multiple study fields and distance learning to ministry-bound students.

[16] Ralph D. Winter advised Jang on the relocation and expansion plan, and later served as the honorary chairman of Olivet University.

By the late 2010s, in addition to California, Olivet University had operations in the District of Columbia; Florida (Sanford, near Orlando); Georgia (Atlanta); Illinois (Chicago); Missouri (St. Louis); New York (Dover and Manhattan; and Tennessee (Nashville).

[22][23] On 26 November 2018, the Manhattan District Attorney charged the university and three of its officials with money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy in connection with the investigation into IBT Media.

[26] On February 20, 2020, Olivet University pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and falsifying business records[27] and paid $1.25 million in forfeiture.