John King Confirmed as Secretary of Education

Senate Confirms John King As Education Secretary (The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 14, 2016) “The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of John B. King Jr. to be secretary of education by a vote of 49 to 40. Mr. King has served as acting education secretary since December, when Arne Duncan stepped down from the permanent post.”

Accreditation Outside the Academy (Inside Higher Ed, March 18, 2016) “Interest is building for an alternative type of accreditation for online courses, boot camps, corporate training and other nontraditional education providers.”

Dr. Craig Swenson Appointed President of Ashford University (PR Newswire, March 14, 2016) “[The] chairman of the Ashford University Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Swenson will assume the role of Ashford University president on May 1, 2016.” Dr. Swenson also serves on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation Board of Directors.

California Community College Leaders Vote to Oust Accreditor (Inside Higher Ed, March 18, 2015) “The majority of community college presidents in California voted yesterday to pull the colleges away from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, while also working to reform the agency.”

Critics Assail Potential New York Move on Regulating Online Colleges (New York Times, March 16, 2016) “The agreement, the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, creates a shared system for regulating online higher education programs. Public and private, nonprofit colleges and universities in New York have been aggressive in lobbying for the commissioner, MaryEllen Elia, to sign the agreement, saying it is critical to their ability to compete in the rapidly expanding online-education market.”

This Catholic College Says The Education Dept. Has Pushed It To the Brink of Closing (Washington Post, March 11, 2016) “[St. Catherine College] has been subjected to a form of federal oversight known as heightened cash monitoring for more than a year. Schools face the added scrutiny for a host of reasons, including turning in late financial statements, operating with a lot of debt or having accreditation problems.”