Q&A: What For-Profit Colleges Are All About

Peter P. Smith is Senior Vice President for Academic Strategies and Development at Kaplan Higher Education. Before joining the company, in 2007, he helped to create and then run the Community College of Vermont, was founding president of California State University-Monterey Bay, and represented Vermont in Congress. His new book, Harnessing America's Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning (Jossey-Bass), is out this month.

Mr. Smith spoke with The Chronicle of Higher Education recently about the differences between career colleges and the rest of higher education, and the challenges that for-profit institutions face. Continue reading...

Lambert Addresses State Veterans Approving Agencies

DETC Executive Director Michael P. Lambert addressed the Mid Winter Conference of the National Association of State Approving Agencies (NASAA) in Arlington, VA February 22. NASAA members are the state executives who do the approval of educational programs and institutions for the purpose of G.I. Bill funding for educational benefit programs for veterans. Each state has its own approving agency, operating under contracts with the Federal Government. Continue reading...

For-Profit Colleges Change Higher Education's Landscape

At a time when American public higher education is cutting budgets, laying off people, and turning away students, the rise of for-profit universities has been meteoric. Enrollment in the country's nearly 3,000 career colleges has grown far faster than in the rest of higher education—by an average of 9 percent per year over the past 30 years, compared with only 1.5 percent per year for all institutions, according to an industry analyst. Continue reading...

Mr. Joseph C. Luman Retires As DETC Legal Counsel

Mr. Joseph C. Luman is retiring as the DETC Legal Counsel, a position he has held for the past 23 years.Continue reading...

Free Online Courses Don't Hurt Paid Enrollment

When customers visit Amazon.com, the Web site lets them sample parts of books for free. Some open-education advocates think this try-it-before-you-buy-it idea offers an answer to one of the biggest questions facing the movement to publish course materials free online: What business model can support giving away your content? Continue reading...

2010 CCME Symposium Recap

The 2010 Council of College and Military Educators Symposium was held February 15-18 at the Nashville Renaissance Hotel and Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Developing a 21st Century Total Force: A Matter of Honor." Continue reading...

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