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.
The Career Education Corporation, one of the country's biggest for-profit higher-education companies, disclosed last month that the U.S. Department of Education had put a freeze on approving new applications for additional campuses or acquisitions while it examines the company's financial records and compliance with federal student-aid regulations.
Many for-profit colleges do not make their students' job-placement or program-completion rates readily available, or else give out inflated numbers, according to a report by the National Consumer Law Center.
A Japanese university has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing a decline in its enrollment. The case, the first of its kind, could mark the start of a trend in Japan, where the birthrate -- and, along with it, the pool of college-age students -- has steadily shrunk for more than a decade.
In an apparent first, the for-profit higher-education industry has begun collecting data on the salaries of its college administrators. Last month, at the Career College Association's annual meeting here, it released some of the initial findings -- with some strong caveats.
In an apparent first, the for-profit higher-education industry has begun collecting data on the salaries of its college administrators. Last month, at the Career College Association's annual meeting here, it released some of the initial findings -- with some strong caveats.