Dive Temporary:
- Stratford College, a for-profit establishment with campuses in Virginia, Maryland and India, is planning to shut Sept. 30, the top of the present time period.
- The college knowledgeable college students through e-mail Friday. Stratford is closing a couple of month after the U.S. Division of Schooling revoked recognition of its accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Impartial Schools and Colleges.
- The Schooling Division put strict necessities on ACICS schools, together with Stratford, corresponding to barring them from enrolling new college students who couldn’t full applications inside 18 months. Stratford President Richard Shurtz blamed the division’s restrictions for the establishment’s closure, saying the company overstepped its regulatory authority.
Dive Perception:
With out a stamp of approval from a federally acknowledged accreditor, a school can’t entry federal monetary help, corresponding to Pell Grants and scholar loans. For a lot of establishments, shedding entry to that funding, referred to as Title IV funding, might be deadly.
ACICS, a long-troubled accreditor of for-profit schools, misplaced the Schooling Division’s recognition in August. The division mentioned ACICS failed to come back into compliance with necessities, corresponding to having ample assets and workers experience.
The Schooling Division gave the 2 dozen or so establishments accredited by ACICS 18 months to discover a new accreditor or else lose entry to Title IV funding. Within the meantime, the division put restrictions on the establishments, together with requiring them to place up monetary collateral and notify present college students that they might lose entry to federal monetary help.
Some coverage advocates heralded the Schooling Division’s transfer to revoke recognition, saying it was lengthy overdue and arguing that ACICS oversaw establishments with abysmal outcomes.
At Stratford, 30% of scholars graduate inside eight years of enrolling, based on federal knowledge. That’s in comparison with the center level of 57% for all four-year schools. Stratford’s common annual value is $24,789, and college students’ median earnings are $43,061.
Shurtz, who owns the faculty along with his spouse — who’s Stratford’s govt vp — mentioned the college was working towards securing accreditation with one other company earlier than the Schooling Division imposed its restrictions. He estimated Stratford was about eight to 10 months away from getting approval from the Distance Schooling Accrediting Fee.
“Truthfully, if they’d have simply allow us to enroll, we’d have had a brand new accreditor in 10 months, and we’d have simply stored on trucking” Shurtz mentioned. “I believe they had been frightened that we’d carry on trucking.”
The restriction on new college students left the college with out sufficient funds to maintain working. New college students account for about 40% of Stratford’s income, Shurtz mentioned.
The Schooling Division’s restrictions have put ACICS-accredited schools right into a precarious place, having to navigate strict necessities that would make it more durable for them to remain open whereas actively looking for out new accreditors.
Shurtz expects different ACICS-accredited schools will discover themselves in the identical place as Stratford.
“I doubt if any college could make it,” Shurtz mentioned.
Stratford has about 1,000 college students and 250 workers.
The College of the Potomac, one other for-profit, has agreed to take Stratford’s enterprise and knowledge know-how college students, Shurtz mentioned. Stratford is understanding a take care of Chamberlain College, additionally a for-profit, to take its nursing college students. Oficials haven’t but pinpointed a school the place culinary and hospitality college students can switch their credit.
“I’ve bought our total workers engaged on looking for a spot the place our college students can land,” Shurtz mentioned.
Stratford has stumbled into different troubles in recent times. In early 2020, NBC Washington reported that ACICS restricted enrollment at Stratford following allegations that the college was working an unapproved program in Iraq. Stratford took ACICS to court docket over the matter, and the 2 events later agreed to finish the lawsuit.
The yr earlier than, Stratford closed three campuses in Virginia as a result of they weren’t financially viable, The Virginian-Pilot reported. The closures affected round 550 college students.
The Schooling Division didn’t reply questions in regards to the closure by publication time.
