Here is the text of a petition posted on MoveOn.org: “We’re big fans of Ellen DeGeneres and her fights for progressive values, which is why we couldn’t believe she’s partnering with the Apollo Group’s The University of Phoenix- one of the most notorious of the predatory “for-profit” colleges. “She announced her partnership in the “Rise…
Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day and this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week. In my previous post, I provided the statement made by John King, Secretary of Education, to mark the day and week. But, in a demonstration of not just persistent tone deafness but political obstinacy that is one of the most baffling…
BY MARTIN KICH Writing for Politico, Josh Gerstein has reported that hearings on the lawsuits against Trump University in both California and New York have been scheduled for the week in which the Republican National Convention will be held in Cleveland. Ironically, given Trump’s recurring assertions that Hillary Clinton may be under indictment during the…
The University of Phoenix has announced that it is eliminating the positions of 470 of its 6,000 employees as part of its “five-year transition plan.” What follows is the letter sent by University of Phoenix president Timothy P. Slottow to the “company leaders”: Dear Colleagues, As ever, I want to thank you for your enthusiasm around and belief in…
BY MARTIN KICH Donald Trump keeps floating the fantasy that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will be derailed by her prosecution and possibly her imprisonment for using a private e-mail server while serving as Secretary of State. This fantasy is the current obsession on the Far Right, succeeding the one that dominated the first eight months…
As Donald Trump’s opponents have tried to substantiate their assertions that he is a confidence man, fresh attention has been given to the class-action lawsuits filed by former students of Trump University and the $40 million suit filed by the attorney general of New York state. Writing for the Daily Beast, Olivia Nuzzi and Kate…
I just came across the following description of the closing of Corinthian Colleges, written in May 2015 by Lawrence Biemiller for The Week: _________________________ Corinthian Crumbles In classical architecture, Corinthian is the most elaborate of the orders, recognizable by the acanthus leaves carved into column capitals. In higher education, however, Corinthian is a company accused…
Years ago, before I even thought about teaching as a full-time and permanent career, I spent a few semesters working for an online “university.” I won’t call what I did “teaching.” After all, the institution didn’t. I was a “facilitator” responsible for a section or two of the required Composition course. It had been designed…
As if anyone needed further proof that Arne Duncan could not care less about students, consider his logic on the settlement reached with Education Management, the for-profit college corporation. What follows is taken from a Huffington Post article by Shahien Nasiripour: “A trio of Senate Democrats on Monday sharply rebuked outgoing Education Secretary Arne Duncan…
The growing trend toward secret presidential searches and the emerging tendency of governing boards to appoint corporate executives or politicians with no experience in higher education has gained considerable attention on this blog (see for examples the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri, the latter with well-known disastrous consequences). One recent example is…