Dive Brief:
- Corinthian Colleges Inc. has announced this morning the list of 85 U.S. schools with 67,917 students that it has put up for sale.
- Under an agreement hammered out late last week with the U.S. Department of Education, Corinthian will sell off the 85 schools, plus schools in Canada, and start shutting down 12 others. In all, Corinthian has more than 100 campuses with 72,000 students and 12,000 employees.
- Corinthian will receive $35 million in federal funds to operate over the next six months, but it cannot use the money to pay dividends, legal settlements, or debt repayments.
Dive Insight:
What’s the going price for a college these days? We’re about to find out. The 85 colleges on the block help establish a market and, presumably, opportunities for buyers. The Corinthian saga is also providing clues about how the Department of Education will treat other for-profit educators who don’t comply with its regulatory demands. The department last month put a 21-day hold on Corinthian’s access to federal student loan funds, which threatened the company’s survival, citing concerns — among other things — about lying to students regarding their job prospects after graduation. After Corinthian agreed to dissolve its operations, the department released $16 million.