American InterContinental University has been put on probation for a year by its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The for-profit university, which is owned by the Career Education Corporation, has bounced in and out of trouble with the accreditor over the last few years.
A watchdog official at the U.S. Education Department last week urged lawmakers to "go slowly" on proposed legislation that would relax some rules that for-profit colleges must follow to participate in federal student-aid programs.
If you had typed "Grantham University" into Yahoo's search engine last week, what would have appeared at the top of the page, above the actual search results, was not a link to Grantham's Web site but an ad for the University of Phoenix -- a "sponsored result," in search-company parlance. Sponsored links to other companies offering online-degree programs also appeared to the right.
TAMPA, Fla. -- For-profit colleges are booming. But a new fight between these upstarts and the education establishment raises a key question: How much are degrees from for-profits really worth?