Southeastern University was a private, non-profit undergraduate and graduate institution of higher education located in southwestern Washington, D.C.

The Commission reported that the college lacked rigor and was losing faculty, enrollment, and financial stability.

It was a member of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area but lost this affiliation after the Fall 2009 semester.

During the 1980s, two university officials were fired due to misappropriation of funds, and SEU's student loan default rate reached 42% by 1987.

[11] Prior to losing accreditation, the university was negotiating a merger with Graduate School USA (formerly Graduate School, USDA), also based in Washington, D.C.[12] In May 2014, the Shakespeare Theatre Company announced plans to redevelop the former site of Southeastern University at 501 Eye Street SW into an actors' campus.