PRESS-CITIZEN: Ashford University to close Clinton campus in 2016

Career College Central Summary:

Ashford University will close its campus in Clinton at the end the 2015-’16 academic year, according to a news release issued Thursday by the for-profit, largely online school.
“Ashford’s Clinton campus has been unable to resolve its significant and ongoing enrollment shortfall, a trend that is especially troubling in today’s highly competitive environment,” Gregory Geoffroy, chairman of the Ashford University Board of Trustees, said in the release.
The San Diego-based university is implementing a one-year teach-out plan for the 1 percent of its students who attend classes in Clinton, according to the release. Online students — which make up 99 percent of the university’s student body — will not be impacted by the closure of the campus.
By having the campus remain open for two more semesters, the release states, about 35 percent of current students will be able to complete their degrees and attend the May 2016 commencement in Clinton.
University officials say they will work with all other campus students to help them understand their options and the process for transitioning to another school or an online program — about 60 percent of returning campus students are pursuing a degree program the university also offers online.
The university is seeking transfer agreements with nearby colleges for those campus students who do not choose to complete an Ashford degree program online.
In 2014, Ashford University and its parent company, Bridgepoint Education Inc., agreed to a $7.25 million settlement with the state of Iowa following allegations that they misled students and misrepresented their program.

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IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN