Category Archives: News

How The Higher Education Monopoly Shuts Down For-Profit Competitors

By Terry Schilling, American Principles Project, September 30, 2019

The higher education establishment often promotes the idea that their effort to corner markets, maximize revenue from consumers, and destroy competition is all done in good faith out of compassion for the students they serve. After all, universities are nonprofits, therefore (or at least so the implication suggests) they are nothing like those terrible for-profit businesses in the proprietary education sector.

“… like so many powerful industries, the higher education establishment is calculating and cutthroat, which is why they have been using whatever means possible to destroy their biggest competitor: the for-profit college sector.”

But “nonprofit” is only a tax designation — it’s certainly not a business model. Universities obviously profit. The only real difference between for-profits and nonprofits is where the profit goes. Instead of distributing profit to shareholders like a for-profit business, nonprofit universities can reinvest in luxury student amenities, state-of-the-art athletic facilities, and other capital improvements not necessarily related to student academic achievement, not to mention administrator salaries, all the while using these expenses to justify charging increasingly higher tuition.

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/30/schilling-higher-education-competition

KACCS sets priorities for HEA reauthorization

In a letter to Rep. Brett Guthrie (Kentucky’s 2nd Congressional District), the organization lists its priorities for Congressional reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which guides the regulation of all colleges and universities in the U.S. whose students receive federal financial aid.

The correspondence reads, in part: ” We believe strongly that a level playing field must be established and preserved for all education providers regardless of their tax status…Protect(ing) the ability for veterans and service members to use their earned benefits at the college or school of their choice… and preserv(ing) and expand(ing) student aid for quality and effective career education programs as short as eight weeks in length, to promote more agile training sector responses to current and emerging workforce shortages.”

Read the full letter at the link below.

roundtable-guthrieDownload

Board of Directors nominations

KACCS defends the best interests of the career education sector through effective government relations and community networking. KACCS occasionally needs to fill vacant positions on the Board of Directors.  If you or someone you know who is affiliated with a KACCS member institution or associate member organization is interested in becoming a board member, please contact ed.kaccs@gmail.com.

The Board meets on average one time per month, by telephone.  Last year, two in-person meetings were held, typically coincidental with the annual meeting or an event sponsored by KACCS.  

Board members are asked to apply their insight and ideas about how to strengthen career colleges and schools in Kentucky. Please share this appeal for candidates so that KACCS may encounter the best leadership talent in the Commonwealth. Or recommend an individual from a KACCS member college or school to fill the vacancy on the Board.

Koenig recognized for service to career education

LOUISVILLE – Kentucky State Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, has been named the Kentucky Association of Career Colleges and Schools (KACCS) 2019 Legislator of the Year.

Rep. Koenig serves as chairman of the Kentucky House of Representatives Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee. The Legislator of the Year award was announced Friday, Aug. 9., during the KACCS annual conference, which was held at Sullivan University in Louisville.

legislator of the yearDownload

Ernst named KACCS President

LOUISVILLE – Chris Ernst, Senior Vice President for Administration at Sullivan University, has been elected president of the Kentucky Association of Career Colleges and Schools (KACCS).

Ernst, a Louisville native and Sullivan University graduate, officially began his tenure as president during the Aug. 9 KACCS annual conference, which was held at Sullivan University in Louisville. He follows past presidents Cindy Landry of ATA College and Jan Gordon, also of Sullivan University.

As KACCS president, Ernst will manage the business and affairs of the organization while reporting to the KACCS Board of Directors and membership.

chris ernst as new presidentDownload

See what you miss…

… when you miss another fabulous KACCS Conference & Exhibition!

Images below from “Navigating change through innovation,” the 2019 KACCS Conference & Exhibition.

Thanks to Ambassador, Elsevier, Cengage, Creative-Image Technology, McGraw Hill, Pearson, TFC Tuition Financing, Jones & Bartlett, Viktory Student, F.A. Davis, Pantheon Student Solutions, and Integri-Shield for supporting the career education sector in the Bluegrass State!

Let Vets Choose: Tour comes to Louisville!

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Career college student veterans, current and alumni, turned out in Louisville Aug. 5th to learn more about how they can protect their right to choose a college or career-oriented school without interference from federal policy makers. For more information about the issues and the active mobilization on behalf of Veterans’ choice, go to link below: Veterans for Career Education.

http://vets4careered.org/about-vce/

Learn more about issues and policies confronting the Career Education sector at the 2019 KACCS Conference & Exhibition, Friday, Aug. 9th in Louisville. There is still time to register!

programbiosanddescriptionsDownload
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The 2019 KACCS Conference & Exhibition Aug. 9th!

KACCS’ Sullivan University partners on Pharm.D program

“Sullivan University and Spalding University have reached an agreement that makes it easier for Spalding students to earn a doctorate of pharmacy degree from Sullivan’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. At a signing event on Monday, leaders of the two Louisville schools said the new pathway agreement will allow more students to complete a doctorate of pharmacy degree, or Pharm.D., and enter the job market sooner…”

By Chris Larson, Louisville Business First, July 8, 2019 https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/

25 High-paying jobs in KY…

. . . that do not require a four-year bachelors degree, including nine that are based on programs offered by career colleges and schools:

  • LAN and WAN network specialist/associate degree/$68 K (annual mean income U.S.)
  • Dental Hygienist/associate degree/$75K
  • Construction trades supervisor/high school or certificate/$70K
  • Diagnostic sonographer/associate degree/73K
  • MRI tech/associate degree/$72K
  • Radiology diagnostic tech/associate degree/$78K
  • Web developer/associate degree/$75K
  • Radiation therapist/associate degree/$86K
  • Logistics manager/high school or certificate/$103K
  • Go to “Members” list to review programs offered by KACCS member colleges and schools.

“As of late June, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development reports that the distribution and logistics industry in Kentucky employs 68,709 people at 541 facilities across the state.

“Looking at the top jobs on the list of the highest paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, the top job is transportation, storage and distribution manager, with a local annual mean income of $95,380. Transportation inspectors, aircraft mechanics and services technicians fall in the top 10.

“We identified 25 of the highest paying jobs that employers usually don’t require a four-year degree. The data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

Source: Allison Stines, Louisville Business First, 7.2.19

Free College: The experience of Kalamazoo, MI

In 2005, Kalamazoo embarked on a bold experiment to save itself by giving local students free college tuition, called the Kalamazoo Promise. Thirteen years later: overall college enrollment has grown by 4 percentage points, remained unchanged for minority students and primarily benefitted white, middle-class and upper-class women. (By Josh Mitchell and Michelle Hackman, Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2019)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-free-college-work-kalamazoo-offers-some-answers-11561741553?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1

Commentary: Attacking proprietary education helps neither students nor taxpayers…

” … As a starting point, it is clear that the profit motive produces enormous benefits. In particular, managers of a for-profit firm have much better personal financial incentives (as compared with non-profit managers) to 1) look for ways to cut costs and 2) look for ways to innovate and out-perform their competitors.”

Michael DeBow, James G. Martin Center, June 26, 2019

https://www.jamesgmartin.center/author/mdebow/Michael DeBow

How to help students find jobs…

“If you’re wondering what more you could offer your students when they come knocking at your office door or emailing you throughout the summer with questions about job searching, I have some suggestions. I like to tell my students to treat their job searches the way they would a research project for class: go in with questions, make an action plan and put the time in to complete the work well. Here’s how you can help them get started…”

Allyson Hoffman/Inside Higher Ed/June 4, 2019

http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/06/04/advice-grad-students-and-faculty-how-best-help-students-their-job-searches-opinion?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=6e0383fb58-WNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-6e0383fb58-199699025&mc_cid=6e0383fb58&mc_eid=2eef2aa6b6

New GE Disclosure Obligations take effect July 1.

Institutions have until July 1, 2019, to update disclosures for each of their GE programs, using the required 2019 GE Disclosure Template data elements, and post the disclosures to program webpages.

On May 9, 2019, the Department of Education published Gainful Employment Electronic Announcement #119, announcing the release of a new 2019 Gainful Employment (GE) Disclosure Template. On May 23, 2019, the Department followed up with Electronic Announcement #120, which provided additional detail regarding the GE disclosure distribution and delivery requirements for that template. On June 7, 2019, the Department published Electronic Announcement #121, providing additional guidance on the 2019 GE Disclosure Template. All postsecondary institutions offering GE programs are required to utilize the new GE template. A GE program is any Title IV educational program offered by a proprietary institution and any nondegree (less than two year) Title IV program offered by other institutions. Read more at www.Duane Morris.com>ALERTS

The New Vocation High School:

An Innovative Campus and Bistro

 NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas—A public school in this Dallas suburb takes hands-on learning to another level.

Students draw blood from teachers to practice phlebotomy. They serve the public as tellers at a campus-based credit union and in a bistro with an omelet station.

In a former roller rink turned barn, students tend to farm animals, including 500-pound steers, while learning about cuts of meat in class. “If I got hired at a family restaurant, I’d know what to do,” said 16-year-old Casey Heinz after a lesson on cooking different types of beef.

The Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning, a $16.75 million campus focused on careers, is what school districts around the country are striving to achieve as more focus shifts to graduates who are skipping college and going right into the workforce. . .

. . . In another area, students wearing smocks check vital signs of patient mannequins. They also spend time at a local hospital working with real patients, such as helping feed them and checking blood pressure. Students who learn in the school’s mock pharmacy also practice in real ones in the area as interns, opening a pipeline for paid work. “They call us every year for pharmacy techs,” teacher Sharon Leon said, adding that students who receive their pharmacy technician certification are workforce ready.

(Read more at WSJ, 6.3.2019, Tawnell D. Hobbs)

Veterans deserve choice in seeking work-ready education

By Cindy Landry, President

Persistent and detrimental gaps between the skills profile of available workers and the skills profile sought by employers continue to suppress the economic vitality of communities in every sector across the U.S., including manufacturing. (“Skills Gap and Future of Work,” 2018 Study by Deloitte & The Manufacturing Institute).  The problem is vexing: in spite of its high profile, the sectors and institutions – public and private – with the resources and expertise to close the gap have fallen short of making substantial impact. “Gap closing” requires diligence, collaboration, coordination and sophistication.  And it requires all relevant actors, working in synch, to lower the barriers to comprehensive and effective skills development.  The skills gap will remain significant until and unless all post-secondary sectors are contributing capacity to its mitigation through the delivery of work-ready education.

     Among the demographic sub-sets most beset by the skills gap are veterans and military personnel pursuing economic opportunity in the civilian sector. Technical and teamwork aptitudes that are honed in the armed services must be harnessed to enhanced communications, human relations, critical thinking and marketplace awareness skills required by civilian employers. Career colleges and schools offer programs in professional, occupational and technical fields that bring together military readiness and contemporary work-ready education.  Proprietary education is focused on flexible time, place and mode of instruction delivery to accommodate working adults. Further, the sector’s colleges and schools enlist faculty and support staff with direct, current knowledge of the contemporary workplace. The institutions thrive when students engage and complete career education in a timely, successful manner.

     How well do proprietary colleges and schools serve veterans? Gallup Research recently conducted a national Student Satisfaction survey of private career colleges and schools and found that 76% of veterans said their degree/certificate was directly related to their work; 71% said they were satisfied with their education; 63% said they would recommend their institution to a fellow Veteran, friend or family member; Veterans experienced a 39% increase in their annual income compared to their income before attending our schools.

     Furthermore, a joint study by Student Veterans of America revealed that student veterans at private career colleges and schools are succeeding at levels comparable to, if not greater than, their peers elsewhere. Other recent and recurring research underscores the value of career and skills-formation education in terms of enhanced earnings and sustainable full-time employment, compared to individuals who opt out of attaining non-degree credentials. (“Non-Degree Credentials Boost Employment and Life Outcomes,” Rhea Kelly, May 2019, Campus Technology.)

     Unfortunately, proposals to marginalize or eliminate veteran participation in proprietary education are part of legislation that is under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives. Provisions in Higher Education Reauthorization would modify the 90/10 ratio (federal funds/non-federal funds) and apply Veteran’s education benefits as well as tuition assistance for active military to the “federal funds” side of the ratio. Those restrictions constitute substantial disincentives for current and former military to enroll at proprietary colleges or schools, regardless of the institution’s programs, their fit with the needs of the student, or the institution’s effectiveness. The broad-brush proposal will greatly impede the ability of an important work-ready resource to be applied toward shrinking the skills gap.

     In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the risk of these potential changes in federal education policy threaten choice and access by thousands of students, and imperil the financial viability of dozens of small, privately-owned and operated career colleges that have been faithfully and effectively serving more than 30 Kentucky communities for more than a century.

     The demographics of students enrolled at career colleges in Kentucky spans the full spectrum of diversity, with strong participation by women, minorities, veterans and individuals from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds. They have access to programs that align and respond to workforce gaps.

     The geographic reach of KACCS member institutions, coupled with their relevant programming, outstanding student services and adult-learner-friendly operation makes them valuable resources to the commonwealth’s initiatives to close skills gaps. The performance, longevity and persistent engagement with the workforce development community magnifies their impact and effectiveness.

     Federal and state policies that acknowledge the valuable resource of the career college sector and promote its full participation are meritorious and worthy of celebration. Efforts to marginalize the Kentucky proprietary education through constrictions to federal policy undermine best efforts to develop a work-ready labor pool, and unfairly diminish education options for men and women in uniform and their discharged cohorts.

     Congress is well advised to delete these provisions from HEA legislation that moves to the floor of either chamber. Closing the skills gap through abundance in work-ready education depends on it.