Northcentral University is Relocating

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by basrsu, May 17, 2014.

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  1. basrsu

    basrsu Member

  2. basrsu

    basrsu Member

    I thought it was interesting, too, partly because Northcentral is so named because 1) it could be identified (or confused) with the regional accreditors North Central and 2) it is located in the northcentral part of Arizona (Prescott and later Prescott Valley just down the road). If Southern California means San Diego, I am curious about a possible buy-out from competitors National University or Bridgepoint Education. Both are certainly not averse to expansion.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 17, 2014
  3. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Well, some companies must be hiring in California -- because the number of private-sector jobs in the state just hit an all-time high this month.

    Over the last few years, the main source of job losses in California hasn't been companies moving out of state. It's been a reduction in the number of public-sector jobs.
     
  4. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    There is not a lot of growth in the for-profit education sector right now; most for-profit schools have either flat or shrinking enrollments. One option in this tough economic environment is growth by merger or acquisition. More students = more revenue, economies of scale = lower costs, more revenue + lower costs = more profit, despite difficult market.

    If NCU heads to San Diego, then some kind of deal with Bridgepoint (= Ashford University) would not be surprising. A deal with National seems less likely, because National is not-for-profit and may not have the kind of cash that NCU's owners (= investment firms) would be looking for. It's true that the National University System has absorbed some other schools (City University of Seattle, John F. Kennedy University), but they were also non-profits.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 19, 2014
  5. basrsu

    basrsu Member

    Agreed, CalDog. A deal with Bridgepoint would be much less surprising. Time will tell, but NCU's sudden announcement seems intriguing.
     
  6. mydegree

    mydegree New Member

    *Disclaimer: I'm an NCU employee* Let's see if I can answer some of these...
    1. Accreditation: NCU is pursuing WASC accreditation and achieved WASC "eligibility" in early May. NCU will remain accredited by and in good standing with the HLC until successfully accredited by WASC.
    2. Location: Southern California was chosen because we feel it is the ideal place for us to grow and build our graduate community, in addition to recruiting quality faculty in the area.
     
  7. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    Southern California? Perhaps they will change the name to Southwestern University.
     
  8. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    So Northcentral University has to change its accredited agency from HLC to WASC?
     
  9. basrsu

    basrsu Member


    Yes, in fact it's going to happen.

    NCU already has in place an application with WASC.
     
  10. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I remember so clearly my first visit to Northcentral in Prescott, on Jan. 3, 2000. I've written a bit about that, but the main story awaits my posthumous edition.

    Recall that the then-named Touro, the only other RA school with 100% nonresident PhDs (as far as I know), moved to California but operated under its Mid-Atlantic accreditation for quite a long time, a matter which I've never understood.
     
  11. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Is it possible that NCU has decided that it would be better served with WASC as their regional accreditor (rather than HLC-NCA), and that they are moving their headquarters for that reason?

    It appears that NCU's regional accreditation was last reaffirmed in 2012-13, and that the next reaffirmation is scheduled for 2014-15. So it would seem that NCU's accreditation was only extended for two years after HLC-NCA's most recent review -- which is well below the maximum of 10 years Maybe they aren't happy with this result, and believe that they can do better with WASC?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 20, 2014
  12. basrsu

    basrsu Member


    CalDog, that is a most astute observation, one that I had not thought of!
     
  13. managerial0550

    managerial0550 New Member

    Thread is pretty much on point. NCU will be applying for WASC and is going through the application process now. They received their site visit feedback from HLC in the last month and it went extremely well and are still fully accredited by them.

    They are moving to San Diego (but keeping all locations in AZ as well) because they feel WASC is a lot smaller accredited, they are a little bit more accepting to online schools but I also think they are seeing the writing on the wall that the HLC is going to crack down on the for-profits
     
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    This is contrary to everything we've ever known about WASC and the HLC. The opposite has always been true. Must be something else.
    And there it is, assuming that's true.
     
  15. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    This forum has frequently had posters over the last few years who wrote that WASC is not friendly to online universities. However, with so many state universities entering the 100% online bandwagon in the WASC region, maybe things are changing.

    My university moved from SACS to HLC a while back. Regional accreditation issues were previously identified and subsequently addressed. Many of us were also flown in from all across the United States to meet with representatives from the HLC. This year, the university passed HLC regional accreditation standards with flying colors.
     
  16. DxD=D^2

    DxD=D^2 Member

    Besides Ashford, NC will also have to compete with Argosy, too. I think this might be interesting. Also, don't forget that Cal Southern University has their application in for WASC accreditation and might be another contender. Nonetheless, we'll just have to wait for NC to publicize more information.
     
  17. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I agree with AV8R, my first thought when reading this "reverse commute" considering the mass exitus of large businesses from California (and who could blame them, California never met a tax idea they didn't like).
     
  18. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I worked for a large aerospace company in California. I left that company after they relocated to another state. Their reason, and I believe it because I could not hire qualified engineers, is that because of the high cost of housing (including rentals) engineers and mechanics could not afford to move to California. And the company could not afford to offer increased compensation (over already great compensation) because of long term contracts and future competiveness.

    Incidentally I now live in Colorado and summing up all my taxes the total is no different then when I lived in California with the biggest single difference being that my CO real estate taxes are twice my CA real estate taxes. And related to this forum CA has the advantage of relatively low college tuition rates.
     
  19. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    The high cost of housing is easily the top reason why businesses and individuals move out of California.

    So why doesn't California just build more housing? Housing is inherently more expensive here, for a number of reasons that don't necessarily occur to people in other states, including the following:

    (1) There isn't very much water here. It is difficult and expensive to get the new water supplies (dams, reservoirs, desalination plants etc) needed for new housing developments.

    (2) There isn't very much land available in the biggest urban areas. The Bay Area and the Los Angeles area are hemmed in by mountains. All of the flat, easily developed land in these areas has already been built out.

    (3) Structures in most parts of California have to be designed to withstand earthquakes.

    (4) Developers have to compete for land with high-dollar agriculture. California farmland, which can produce fresh strawberries in February, or $100 bottles of wine, commonly has much higher value than farmland in other states.

    If you want to build housing in, say, Wisconsin, these factors don't apply. But in California, they do.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2014
  20. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    California has relatively high sales taxes and state income taxes, by national standards. However, California has unusually low property taxes by national standards -- especially considering the high value of California real estate.

    Lots of people (especially retirees) think of cashing out their expensive homes in California and moving to cheaper homes out of state. It sounds like a great strategy -- but many people are surprised to discover that the property taxes will actually be higher on the cheaper, out-of-state home than on the expensive California home.

    This is an issue for retirees on fixed incomes. Retired people generally pay less in income taxes (because they have less income) and sales taxes (because they don't buy as much stuff). But they still have to pay full property taxes.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2014

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