However, the amount of legal threats, lawsuits, hacking attempts, domain hijacking attempts, and so forth on the part of for-profit institutions around the world (especially from the US and Canada) is something that we deal with every single day.
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL), owner of the University of Phoenix and the biggest U.S. for-profit college, said first-quarter earnings fell 11 percent as new enrollment declined for a third straight quarter.
One of the big draws of online education is that it can be easily untethered from the traditional semester schedule, with online universities often offering new classes 52 weeks a year. But while they are convenient for students, and profitable for institutions, rolling starts for classes can mean flimsy job security for the adjunct professors who teach them.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has broadened her investigation into recruiting and lending practices at for-profit colleges and trade schools, which critics say leave students with mountains of student loan debt, but often do not lead to decent-paying jobs.
In remarks to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Tuesday, a Republican Congresswoman used a Holocaust reference to suggest that private college leaders should have stood up to the Obama administration's regulation of for-profit colleges.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) rehashed the education portion of the GOP platform Tuesday, promoting for-profit colleges in a speech labeled a "rebranding" of the Republican Party.
“I am a Phoenix” is no more. The once-ubiquitous TV commercials touting student and faculty pride in the University of Phoenix have been replaced by a new ad campaign that its marketers hope will “project a hopeful, positive message for America.” It’s also designed to lay the ground for what one university executive called “a massive repositioning” of the institution.
Wisconsin is shaping up to be an important front in the battle over for-profit higher education, with a likely crackdown in Milwaukee and a brewing debate over tighter regulations at the state level.
Private college presidents head to Capitol Hill today to make the case for private higher education, hoping to maintain funding for federal student aid programs while slowing down what they see as an encroaching tide of new federal regulations.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has broadened her investigation into recruiting and lending practices at for-profit colleges and trade schools, which critics say leave students with mountains of student loan debt, but often do not lead to decent-paying jobs.
Shares of for-profit education companies traded higher on Thursday after DeVry Inc. reported strong quarterly results and the federal government said the Pell Grant Program, which provides financial aid to low-income students, is in better financial shape than expected.
In remarks to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Tuesday, a Republican Congresswoman used a Holocaust reference to suggest that private college leaders should have stood up to the Obama administration's regulation of for-profit colleges.
When Albert Anarwat applied to the for-profit Aristotle University, in California, the Ghanaian student said he asked the university if the institution was accredited. Not only was he told yes, he said, but he also was told that if the university was not accredited, “How could they get a SEVIS number” – SEVIS being the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. In other words, if the institution was not accredited, how could it be approved to host international students?
Aggressive recruiting by some of the state's largest for-profit colleges is drawing scrutiny from the Minnesota attorney general, who contends that students, many of them veterans, can find themselves unable to repay federal loans, leaving taxpayers on the hook.
The University of Phoenix’s accreditation woes are more serious than the for-profit giant had been told to expect, with a site team from its regional accreditor recommending last week that the university be placed on probation because of concerns about a lack of autonomy from its holding company, the Apollo Group.
A group representing the much-maligned for-profit higher education industry released a report Wednesday outlining best practices for schools to follow, including tight oversight of recruiting, in-depth financial counseling for students, and tracking of veterans’ educational progress, among other proposals.
How do you build the Harvard University of the for-profit college sector? That’s perhaps a silly question at face value but the question reveals the challenge of manufacturing prestige and legitimacy in a higher education system that is fundamentally ordered by the former and fueled by the latter, frequently in the form of accreditation.
Wisconsin’s Educational Approval Board, which decides whether for-profit colleges can operate in the state, has shut down a committee that was charged with developing accountability standards for the colleges, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Much of the criticism of for-profit higher education relies on the assumption of an unavoidable tension between quality and profit. This tension typically is framed in a way in which the pursuit of profit is directly connected to reduction in quality, requiring countervailing external regulations and explicitly enforced internal safeguards.
After being in the doghouse for more than two years, for-profit colleges such as Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV), Corinthian College (COCO), and Strayer College (STRA) are rallying today - Apollo reported better-than-expected profits this morning. Does it mean that the sector has turned the corner? Should investors go bargain hunting in the sector?