Dive Brief:
- Twelve U.S. senators, all Democrats, are calling on U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to prohibit Corinthian Colleges Inc. from enrolling new students and to notify students of its plans to sell or close specific campuses.
- Corinthian, the for-profit company that has basically been shut down by federal funding restrictions, should also certify that it will not prohibit students who feel they’ve been harmed by the company from suing, the senators state in a letter.
- Additionally, the Department of Education should not allow any other for-profit company or school currently under investigation to buy schools from Corinthian or participate in the Corinthian teach-out process, the senators say.
Dive Insight:
The concern about recruiting new students is surprisingly legitimate. According to the Los Angeles Times, California's attorney general will seek an injunction to force Corinthian to tell prospective students about the impending closure or sale of schools, citing advertisements by Corinthian's Heald College that call it a "stable and permanent fixture" and promise a lifetime of career services to graduates. Corinthian, with more than 72,000 students and 90 campuses, announced Monday that it will sell off or close most of its schools in the next six months. By Tuesday, the company is required to present the U.S. Department of Education with the list of schools that it plans to either sell or teach out.