CollegeAmerica

CollegeAmerica
Type Private non-profit, with for-profit Title IV status[1]
Established 1964
Parent institution
 Center for Excellence in Higher Education
President Eric Juhlin
Location Arizona and Colorado, USA
Campus Main Campus, Denver, Colorado
Colors Red, White and Blue
Website CollegeAmerica

CollegeAmerica is a private, non-profit college in the United States offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The college is one of four educational institutions affiliated with the Salt Lake City-based Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE).[1] It was founded as the training division of Control Data Corporation. Although it is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, all institutions owned by CEHE were placed on probation in September of 2018 because "the inputs, resources, and processes of CEHE schools are designed and implemented in a manner that is not designed for student success."[2][3]

History

Non-profit status

In 2012, the college announced its intent to transfer to non-profit status for Title IV financial aid purposes (not to be confused with their non-profit Internal Revenue Service status) through its affiliation with the CEHE.[4][5] However, a whistelblower suit was filed in Idaho against the CEHE collective of schools by two former recruiters alleging they were paid "bonuses, commissions, and other forms of incentive compensation in violation of the federal ban on such compensation."[6] In May 2014 the U.S. Department of Justice joined the suit, stating that from its point-of-view the CEHE "directly or indirectly encouraged its recruiters to enroll anyone who was willing to apply for federal funds regardless of the students’ likelihood of success or ability to benefit" from the associated schools' educational programs.[6] The Colorado Attorney General filed a similar lawsuit in December 2014, though it alleged "staff consistently misled and lied to students about the selectivity of the school, the transferability of credits, the jobs they could obtain, the salaries they could earn, and more," though CEHE denied the allegations as "full of distortions [and] half-truths."[5][7]

On August 11, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education rejected the college chain's attempt to make its schools non-profit for Title IV financial aid purposes, leaving the schools for-profit for Title IV.[1][8][9] In the Department of Education's statement, they said "non-profit institutions must be owned and operated by a non-profit where no part of the net earnings benefit any private shareholder or individual," and it had found, in its review, this was not the case.[8] The CEHE filed suit against the Department of Education on August 30, calling its decision "arbitrary and capricious and inconsistent with the treatment of similarly situated nonprofit schools."[1][10]

Campus locations

Main and branch campuses offer a wide variety of programs and courses. CollegeAmerica had seven main and branch campus locations: Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO; Fort Collins, CO; Idaho Falls, ID; Flagstaff, AZ; and Phoenix, AZ. The campus in Cheyenne, WY was closed on March 17, 2017 due to steadily declining enrollment.[11]

Academics

CollegeAmerica offers Associates, Bachelors, and master's degrees in a variety of programs, including healthcare, business, information technology, and graphic arts. The college offers a total of 41 degree programs: nine associate degrees, 25 bachelor's degrees, and seven master's degrees. There are a total of 15 healthcare degrees, 13 business degrees, nine information technology degrees, and four graphic arts degrees.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Korn, M. (31 August 2016). "Utah-Based College Sues Government Over For-Profit Status". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  2. ↑ [Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges]] (September 6, 2018). "System-Wide Review Probation Order" (PDF). Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ Kreighbaum, Andrew (September 11, 2018). "Probation for For-Profit College Chain". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ Halperin, D. (11 February 2013). "If a For-Profit College Becomes a Non-Profit, Is That Good? Not Necessarily". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. 1 2 Halperin, D. (23 November 2015). "Breaking: Court Rejects CollegeAmerica's Effort to Dismiss Fraud Case". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  6. 1 2 Halperin, D. (9 April 2014). "Breaking: Justice Dept. Sues For-Profit Stevens-Henager College". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  7. ↑ Nicholson, K. (17 February 2015). "CollegeAmerica sued by Colorado AG for "deceptive trade practices"". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 Halperin, D. (11 August 2016). "Department Of Education Rejects For-Profit College Chain's Conversion To Non-Profit". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. ↑ Halperin, D. (11 August 2016). "College Rebuked Today By Education Dept. Is Suing Ex-Employee Who Complained to Accreditor". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Douglas-Gabriel, D. (9 September 2016). "Is the federal government trying to take down the for-profit college industry?". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Galloway, K. (27 March 2017). "CollegeAmerica closes its doors in Cheyenne". The Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved 19 November 2017.

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