U of Idaho President Pressed Alumni Group To Hire Lobbyist for Phoenix Deal
At the urging of University of Idaho president C. Scott Green, the school’s alumni association recently hired a lobbyist whose duties have included trying to persuade state legislators not to thwart Green’s plan for his school to acquire the for-profit giant University of Phoenix. The proposed deal to spend $685 million to buy Phoenix, a
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Former Administrators of University of Antelope Valley, a For-Profit, Allege Financial Aid Fraud
Kevin Hoover uncovered problems soon after taking a job as the University of Antelope Valley’s executive financial aid director. He arrived at the California for-profit institution in December 2022, but said in an interview that he discovered misconduct had been occurring for a few years. Students routinely did not receive federal financial aid refunds to
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Is the FTC Investigating U of Phoenix Again? Idahoans Deserve An Answer.
The University of Idaho’s proposed $685 million deal to buy the for-profit University of Phoenix is becoming increasingly controversial in the state of Idaho. It could get even more controversial if it turns out, as might well be the case, that the University of Phoenix, which has a long history of predatory practices and resulting
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Education Department Needs Stronger Rules for Accreditors
I’m scheduled to offer a brief public comment at today’s session of the Department of Education’s negotiating rulemaking meetings, where representatives of various higher education constituencies have come together to debate new proposed regulations governing issues including distance education, state government authorization of schools, and standards for the private accrediting bodies that oversee schools. My
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Idaho House Committee Votes Against U. of Phoenix Deal
The Idaho House State Affairs Committee today voted unanimously for a resolution urging the Idaho State Board of Education to reconsider the deal for the University of Idaho to acquire the for-profit University of Phoenix, and authorizing the Legislature to sue if necessary to stop the purchase. The vote came just a day after University
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Concerns Mount in Idaho Over U. of Phoenix Deal
When three U.S. senators — Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) — wrote last fall to C. Scott Green, the president of the University of Idaho, to raise concerns about that state school’s plan to buy, for $685 million, the giant for-profit University of Phoenix, they received a hostile letter from
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Advisory Panel Ratifies Education Dept.’s Weak Decision on Accreditor’s Failed Oversight of Corrupt College
At its meeting today, NACIQI, the U.S. Department of Education’s outside advisory committee on accreditation policy, voted 12-2, after a debate, to endorse the Department staff recommendation of a 29-month renewal of recognition for accreditor Council on Occupational Education (COE). The opposing votes came from NACIQI vice chair Zakiya Smith Ellis, who was formerly
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Accreditor COE Approved Corrupt Schools. There Should Be Consequences.
Today I’m scheduled to present brief comments (3 minutes max allowed) at a meeting of NACIQI, the U.S. Department of Education’s advisory committee charged with reviewing the performance of the private accrediting agencies that oversee quality at colleges and universities. Here’s what I plan to say: In April 2020, I wrote an article about a
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