The FTC outlined several cases it previously determined are illegal because they are deceptive or unfair. They include misrepresenting “directly or by implication” employment prospects for an institution’s students, graduates’ earning potential, and an institution’s ability to help students find jobs. They also include misrepresenting employment requirements in a field for which an institution trains students. Continue … Continue reading
Filed under Private Institutions …
Moody’s Predicts College Closures to Triple by 2017
Closure rates of small colleges and universities will triple in the coming years, and mergers will double. Those are the predictions of a Moody’s Investor Service report released Friday that highlights a persistent inability among small colleges to increase revenue, which could lead as many as 15 institutions a year to shut their doors for … Continue reading
Understanding Plagiarism in a Digital Age
Do your students have a hard time defining — and thus, perhaps, avoiding — plagiarism? They’re not alone. In a cut-and-paste world, examples of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism are everywhere. Here, for instance, are just a handful of cases that have made headlines in the last few years: Journalists, scientists, novelists and politicians have … Continue reading
Students Ask Education Department to Discharge College Debt
Almost 12,000 students are asking the federal government to discharge their college loan debt, asserting that their school either closed or lied to them about job prospects, according to government data released Thursday. Already, claims totaling about $40 million in loans have been approved. That’s only a fraction of the potential cost to taxpayers if … Continue reading
Older and On The Market
Searching for employment tends to make people anxious about the ways in which they are different from the “typical” candidate. One such factor is age, especially if you are older than average on the market. I heard from two readers who had such concerns: “A growing number of us earn Ph.D.s post-40, post-50. I’m 58. … Continue reading
Liberty University Owes Rapid Growth to Federal Student Loans
Liberty University is not just your average school down the road. The once small Christian college founded in 1971 by the Rev. Jerry Falwell now has the largest student body of any private nonprofit university in the country. With over 70,000 students, the university has become a destination for political candidates seeking the GOP’s more … Continue reading
What the Landmark Ruling on Gay Marriage Means for Higher Education
…Christian colleges across the nation — many of which forbid same-sex relationships among students and faculty members — said they faced an uncertain future, with the decision potentially affecting their tax-exempt status, accreditation, student-housing policies, and ability to admit and hire people based on religious convictions. This month more than 70 educational institutions, including evangelical … Continue reading
Dept. Names More Than 550 Colleges It Has Put Under Extra Financial Scrutiny
The U.S. Department of Education … released the names of the more than 550 colleges required to operate under more restrictive conditions and extra scrutiny because of concerns about their management or administration of federal financial-aid dollars. The department’s extra scrutiny, known as heightened cash monitoring, “is not necessarily a red flag to students and taxpayers, … Continue reading
158 Private Colleges Fail Government’s Financial-Responsibility Test
By one measure at least, the 2013 fiscal year was a healthier year financially for private colleges than 2012 was. Fewer degree-granting colleges missed the passing mark on the Department of Education’s financial-responsibility test that year, according to a Chronicle analysis of data the department released Thursday night. A total of 158 private colleges—108 of … Continue reading
Students Are Returning to For-Profit Colleges
Here’s a puzzle. Enrollment continued to decline at public community colleges this 2014-15 academic year, but not so much at private, for-profit ones. Of course, the for-profit colleges offer not only two-year degrees, but also four-year and graduate ones too. But they’re both drawing from a similar pool of older, low-income students. So you’d expect … Continue reading
Professor Van Ry 