Ashford loses accreditation

Actually this was my failed attempt at a joke. Ashford & Simpson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I guess I should just stick to being a bystander on this discussion.

 

Ok, just received a faculty email:
"Due to the denial by WASC of our application for accreditation the HLC has placed Ashford on its Special Monitoring status to confirm compliance with the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation, including the Minimum Expectations. In an effort to ensure that the University continues to satisfy HLC’s accreditation requirements, the HLC Board of Trustees is requiring Ashford University to provide a report by August 10, 2012.

Ashford University is also required to host an Advisory Visit within 60 days of the Commission’s receipt of its report. Subsequently, at its meeting in February 2013, the HLC Board of Trustees will review the report of the Advisory Visit team and the University’s response to those documents.

“We are accredited, and will continue our critical service to our non-traditional students, largely comprised of working adults and underserved populations,” said Dr. Elizabeth Tice, president and chief executive officer of Ashford University. “We are fully committed to providing the opportunity for a brighter future to the more than 90,000 students currently attending Ashford University in pursuit of a higher education.”

Ashford University believes it is in substantial compliance with the HLC accreditation criteria and intends to cooperate fully with HLC in this matter.

The HLC region includes 19 states from Arizona to West Virginia, including Iowa where Ashford University maintains its residential campus.

Thank you once again for your dedicated service to all of our students."

There ya go.

 

:: chuckle ::

I'm big on puns and wordplay, so I'm surprised I didn't catch that.

 

Baker College is in HLC territory. Maybe Ashford could buy them out. . .

 

One Report Puts Ashford U. Under Pressure From 2 Accreditors - Administration - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Looks like my question a few posts ago has been answered...

 

Hi Abner,

Yes, I started TAing for them right after I finished my Psych Masters at UWA. Great talking to you again. I can barely find time to check in here these days. Hope you are well!

Dan

 

Is this supposed to be some attempt at humor?

 

And it didn't take long for the lawyers to run to the courthouse...

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action Suit against Bridgepoint Education, Inc. | EON: Enhanced Online News

 

One more follow-up... Received this email just now from the CEO of Bridgepoint:

 

This is getting ugly.

 

No, just trying to think of how a firm in Bridgepoint's situation might try to work around the "significant presence" requirement. I don't know the colleges in the region well enough to know who they could "snap up" quickly.

 

The problem isn't that they need to "snap up" a college in the area. Ashford already has a campus in Iowa. The problem is that the vast majority of the administration is in California. IMO, the only solution is to relocate most of the admin to an area in HLC's territory.

 

This whole saga has been quite interesting from many perspectives. The most fascinating one for me has been its stock price. Bridgepoint Education Inc(NYSE:BPI) closed at $9.84 today, down from a $30.62 high just under a year ago.

By the time this thread started (Tuesday),BPI had closed at $13.07, having dropped from 14.25 Monday, and from 21.50 at close the previous Friday.

I bring this up because there were a few days where it was still trading around $13 and I kept asking myself how to reconcile the need for "substantial presence" by December of this year, with their not having another scheduled comprehensive evaluation until late 2014.

If I actually had a clue about the stock market, maybe I could have taken my (and the members of this form's) insight and shorted the stock. Who knows. I was just tickled by the idea that a little specialized knowledge of the accreditation process gave some members of the board a bit of extra insight that the market didn't seem to acknowledge until HLC made it official with their placement of Ashford on "Special Monitoring Status".

Maybe the degreeinfo folks should start an education industry hedge fund. :biggrin:

 

Eisman and co have already cashed in from what I've read. I predict a strong rise in stock prices the instant this works itself out...single digit stock prices for one of the largest for profit schools in the U.S. is potential for staggering profits. I'm going to wait a bit but I'm thinking of tossing $500 or so into the stock and sit on it to see what happens. Who knows, maybe I'll make enough to purchase another used Harley.

 

So according to the WSJ...Ashford is one of the few schools that has not had a drop in enrollments. If they re-up their accreditation (which I assume they will) I smell potential for a rapid and huge stock price increase. Gonna' have to watch the ticker.

 

Stop telling people, you will cut in to my profits if you cause a run now. :bandit:

 

True...I did okay last time I bet on them. I'm betting again. It'll be fun.

 

Good luck, guys!