Ashford University placed on notice by HLC

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Shawn Ambrose, Mar 1, 2013.

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  1. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Anything less than full accreditation cannot be good news for students and alumni. There is a moral contract between the university and students that the university will be a good corporate citizen. The lost of accreditation will not enhance but will likely damage the competitive of students and alumni.
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Obviously.

    After I cancelled out all the lofty buzzwords, I was left with no actual content here.

    Obviously.

    Anyway, Ashford doesn't need "feel good" reasoning to want to stay accredited, self-interest alone is more than sufficient motivation. It's not like Bridgepoint executives are sitting around the boardroom drinking brandy and smoking cigars and saying, "Screw 'em, let's drop accreditation!" and laughing like Statler and Waldorf.

    But it's not up to them, at least not entirely.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 5, 2013
  3. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    There is no reason to rely exclusively on what HLC reports say.

    For example, you could also look at what WASC reports say.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 5, 2013
  4. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    No, that scenario may only apply to shareholders, not accreditors.

    Bridgepoint is currently facing a tidal wave of lawsuits from disgruntled investors. Bridgepoint execs allegedly got the bad news about Ashford's WASC accreditation in 2011, allegedly did not disclose this fact (in violation of SEC rules), and allegedly used the opportunity to dump as much stock as possible before the WASC public announcement in 2012 (which caused the stock to immediately tank). The alleged scenario is: "Screw the shareholders, let's dump the stock!" (cue Statler and Waldorf).

    I suspect that legal issues, rather than accreditation issues, may be Bridgepoint's undoing. Some big-name law firms are circling like sharks, and they may have more teeth than the accreditation agencies.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 5, 2013
  5. CavTrooper

    CavTrooper Member

    Ok, I I do wholeheartedly agree that AU isn't the best place to go to college - obviously the accreditors have made that pretty clear. I'm just saying it would be unfair to automatically reject someone's resume based solely on the AU degree, without futher consideration.

    But yah - I think most of us are in agreement that AU isn't the best place to go for academic excellence at this point; I saw the writing on the wall well before I graduated and transferred to one of the big three (still not Harvard, but at least not under severe scrutiny). :)
     
  6. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    See? This is what happens when I get busy with school and stay away from the boards for a bit. I come back to discover I'm apparently part of yet another Ashford discussion. LOL

    Yes, my experiences with Ashford were terrible. Yes, they were more recent than the OP's. No, I would never ever recommend them to anyone ever. And no, I'm not the least bit surprised that Ashford is having all these issues and has yet to fix much of anything. As was stated, pulling accreditation is a process. It doesn't just happen overnight. I think that even if they were to somehow pull off a miracle and stay accredited, their legal issues may still be the death of them.

    I knew when I left Ashford that I definitely wasn't getting what I was paying for. Now that I have been at ASU for a while, I can absolutely see the difference in ethics, customer service, course quality, cost, reputation, education, and resources. For me personally, no name for profits are a thing of the past. All schools are businesses, I get that. But to me it seems that for profits in general, and specifically Ashford and U of P to name a few, seem to have forgotten that they are in the business of education. I think Ashford's time is about up, and honestly, I will be glad to see it go. Now if U of P would head out the same way, things would be a lot better. Again, in my opinion.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 6, 2013
  7. icecom3

    icecom3 New Member

    I think this is a common sentiment with people who have had bad experiences at for-profit schools. But then again I know so many people that claim online degrees are trash no matter where it comes from ASU, UoP, or Harvard Extension. Personally, I think all the AU bashing following this accreditation crisis puts online learning back in the spotlight, and gives ammo to the naysayers.

    I hope AU gets their act together and resolves this. If they need to move offices, adjust curriculum, and increase the staff-to-student ratio then that is what they need to do. Hoping that the school fails also means hoping that tons of people lose their jobs and all the alumni suffer consequences as well. It seems they are making a serious effort, and I hope they succeed.
     

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