EDMC to sell schools to Los Angeles nonprofit | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette After years of enduring government scrutiny and lawsuits, Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corp. is abandoning the for-profit business model and selling its operating schools to a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. EDMC announced Friday it wants to sell 31 Art Institute schools, as well as the South University and Argosy University educational systems, to Dream Center Foundation, a philanthropic organization affiliated with a Pentecostal church that funds programs across the country for underprivileged people. All told, the proposed deal will shift roughly 60,000 students and 15,000 employees at schools managed by EDMC to the Dream Center Foundation.
Interesting development. Since the Pentecostals say we are in the "end times" and Jesus will be back by 2050, what's the motivation for getting a degree? And one wonders how courses will now address global warming?
Man, I'm a Christian going way back, been called a Jesus Freak even, yet anytime I think about all the screwballs who are always telling people "Jesus is coming soon...or on this date or that date" it drives me straight up the wall. Same sort of crowd that liked to spread balderdash about Procter & Gamble using the devil's own symbols in their logo or Barry Manilow back in the day being a closeted satanist. These outfits don't even read their Bibles very much, or they'd see the stuff where Jesus said no one knew when He was coming back--not even Him! So what gives these blowhards with the big hair and pinkie rings the notion that they'd know something Jesus Himself said He didn't know? What a bunch of nutjobs.
FTF, as a Manaloonie, I am offended by you even thinking that Barry might be a closeted satanist. Still, The Dream Center page(s) say that the colleges will remain secular.
When you say "Sale of the Century" I can't help but think of the game show. [video=youtube;FPIUqspX2lU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPIUqspX2lU[/video]
To be fair, it's not an officially accepted (or even widespread) belief among Pentecostals that Jesus is coming back in 2050. Those who would claim to know the date can be dismissed as false prophets, since the Bible itself set that standard and also warned against that sort of behavior. The funny part is, even a false prophet will be right about the date eventually. They just have to commit to doing it every day, lol.
We're likely to see much more of this, I think. EDMC is a major player in the for-profit scene. Once they show it can be accomplished while still lining the pockets of those involved it will begin the shift. The last ones to the party will likely be those that are publicly traded. Until, of course, they can show that they can turn a profit without having the schools officially in their portfolios.
The system that owns Keiser University changed to being a non-profit, I think they were among the first. I would be surprised if that weren't a very closely held non-profit structure.
It appears to be, indeed. And I recall reading an article about how the closely held non-profit outsources many administrative and logistical functions to other closely held for-profit ventures controlled by the same family. A structure which they maintain is legal, as they charge only market rate, but one which shows that there is still room to make a buck. I'd like to see how it plays out long term. How will for-profit haters continue to justify their targeted attacks against schools that, legally, are indistinguishable from their traditionally non-profit targets? Or are we likely to see more attempts by accreditors to block these efforts as in the case of GCU? Time will tell. These sales may also provide schools with less than stellar reputations an opportunity to rebrand. The University of Phoenix may find that a change to non-profit status and a change of name to say "Arizona Mesa University" sufficiently rehabs their image.
I am a current student a Keiser University and this is my understanding. The Keiser family owns Keiser University (for-profit) and Everglades University (non-profit), they merged Keiser University assets, name . . . etc . . . under the Everglades University umbrella. Regards, Michael
Having worked for both sorts, I saw no inherent quality difference. It really only makes sense to judge schools on an individual basis. Tax status just isn't that great a shortcut.
Steve, I do not know the answer to this question, you might . . .Does a private university owned by a religious group not have to pay property taxes, on their campuses and offices? Michael
Not Steve, but I think that this quote from the IRS site might help to clarify: So it looks a little tricky. On the surface, it appears as though the educational income would be exempt, but if it's not the "basis of the organization's exemption", I'm not quite sure. Maybe the education entities will be classified differently or as solo organizations in order to bypass?
