University of Arizona to Acquire Ashford University

HEADLINES

University of Arizona's Big Online Push (Inside Higher Ed, August 4, 2020) "As part of what it called a "transformational" definitive agreement, the University of Arizona will create a new nonprofit entity called the University of Arizona Global Campus that will buy Ashford University for $1. The University of Arizona Global Campus will be a nonprofit institution affiliated with the University of Arizona. The new online university will maintain its own leadership, faculty members and academic programs. It will also be accredited separately. Ashford University is currently accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission, while the University of Arizona is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission."

It's Time to Fix the Broken Higher Education Transfer Pipeline (The Hill, August 3, 2020) "States can be proactive in bringing employers and accreditors together to understand what competencies are needed in the workforce."

This University of Akron Program Was Warned It Had Too Few Faculty. It Just Lost Another to Cuts (Akron Beacon Journal, August 1, 2020) "The counseling psychology doctoral program lost just one person, but students and faculty fear that one could have devastating effects because the American Psychological Association accreditation is still pending."

More States Are Looking at Consolidating Their Public Colleges. Does It Work? (The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription required], July 30, 2020) "Consolidation isn’t one single process. Its definition can depend on the context. In some cases, like Georgia, it means a wholesale reorganization of the institutions in an existing public system into a smaller number of new ones. In others, like Maine and, potentially, Pennsylvania, consolidations involve merging a few colleges that are part of a larger system. But the strategy can also call for combining institutions under a single accreditation, an approach that is being pursued in Maine but was rejected in Alaska. Or it might be some combination of features, as is being considered in Connecticut."

Accreditor Oversight Group Votes Against Sanctions on HLC (Education Dive, July 29, 2020) "The U.S. Department of Education’s accreditation advisory group voted to reject sanctions recommended by department staff for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) that include a year-long ban on accrediting new schools. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity’s (NACIQI) 9-2 vote, with one abstention, will go to a senior department official, Mitchell Zais, who will make the final determination. At issue is how HLC handled the accreditation of two Art Institutes that were transferred from Education Management Corp., a for-profit college operator, to the nonprofit Dream Center.”