“Bridgepoint Education's Ashford University Introduces Associate's Degree in Organizational Management” plus 3 more |
- Bridgepoint Education's Ashford University Introduces Associate's Degree in Organizational Management
- Finish, Don't Start, Your Degree Online
- Online learning seems way off base
- /C O R R E C T I O N/ Morgan Stanley Analyst Sees Strayer (STRA) As One Of The Highest-Quality Names In Education Yet ...
| Posted: 10 Sep 2010 08:30 AM PDT Press Release Source: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. On Friday September 10, 2010, 11:30 am EDT SAN DIEGO, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE:BPI - News), a provider of postsecondary education services focused on providing higher access to higher education, announced today that Ashford University has introduced a new Associate of Arts degree in Organizational Management. This degree program is intended to provide students with a strong educational basis that will prepare them for entry-level managerial careers. "Ashford University's AA in Organizational Management equips entry level managers with skills in team leadership, key conflict management, enhanced communications, appropriate human relations, critical thinking and analysis that are required to be effective in dealing with complex human interactions," said Mary Alexander, program director for Ashford's College of Liberal Arts. "The solid foundation students will acquire from extensive coursework in the liberal arts will contribute to creativity and cultural awareness in the workplace." While the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests the demand for entry-level supervisors and managers is expected to increase more slowly than the national average due to the automation of managerial processes, entry-level candidates for positions in organizations will need to distinguish themselves with education and training to remain competitive. Earning an academic degree demonstrates the necessary minimum training and education to be a successful administrator, supervisor or manager in the modern organization. An associate's degree remains the minimum credential for entry level manager positions in almost any field or industry. The theory and application of managing and leading people is the main emphasis of the curriculum for the Associate of Arts in Organizational Management program. With this degree, students will be prepared to pursue positions as supervisors in a broad range of fields, including sales, retail, small businesses, government and non-profit organizations. Ashford University's Associate of Arts in Organizational Management is currently available online only. This degree does not lead to licensure or certification of any kind. About Bridgepoint Education Bridgepoint Education's postsecondary education services focus on offering associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in such disciplines as business, education, psychology, social sciences and health sciences. Bridgepoint Education's regionally accredited academic institutions – Ashford University and University of the Rockies – deliver their programs online as well as at traditional campuses located in Clinton, Iowa, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. For more information about Bridgepoint Education, visit www.bridgepointeducation.com or call Shari Rodriguez, associate vice president of Public Relations at 858.668.2580. About Ashford University Founded in 1918, Ashford University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahlc.org). The University offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs online and at its Clinton, Iowa, campus. The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable online and on-campus programs. For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu or call Shari Rodriguez, associate vice president of Public Relations, at 858.513.9240 x2513. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Finish, Don't Start, Your Degree Online Posted: 10 Sep 2010 10:37 AM PDT A decade ago, a résumé boasting a degree from an online university probably would have drawn a chuckle from a prospective employer, followed by a quick trip to the wastebasket. While a fully online education still is not as highly regarded as a traditional one, experts say, momentum appears to be changing that. Last year, full-time online programs' share of the bachelor's degree market rose by 17 percent to 8.3 percent, according to research firm Eduventures. "In general, there's an increasing respect for these institutions," says Steve Isaac, CEO of EducationDynamics, an education marketing firm. [Read about the recession's toll on higher education.] Still, online degrees are most useful for those who didn't finish college but are employed and looking to get ahead, notes Trace Urdan, managing director at investment bank Signal Hill Capital. Only about 57 percent of college students obtain a degree within six years of starting school, creating a massive market for degree completion options, which online universities have sought to fill. Tuition at most for-profit institutions is about $10,000 annually for a full load, and many employers are happy to pick up the tab, as evidenced by the sizable portion of online universities' revenue coming from employer-sponsored tuition reimbursement, says Urdan. He says those looking for their first job may find that online degrees have marginal value, though the University of Phoenix and Kaplan are battling that perception with aggressive marketing campaigns. [Learn more about online education.] Alex Clark, vice president for public relations at Apollo Group, the University of Phoenix's parent, points out that Apple, Boeing, Google, and the FBI have all sent workers there. "It's not fair to say that employers don't value online degrees," Urdan says, "because I think that they do for employees that they already know and trust." Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Online learning seems way off base Posted: 10 Sep 2010 10:49 AM PDT Editor, the Times: John Martin presents a one-sided piece supporting post-secondary online learning which discredits my alma-mater (UFV) by failing to point out the disadvantages to learners (New face of higer education, Times, Sept. 3). In my opinion, universities serve to gain from the tuition generated by online learning but learners are at risk of throwing away their financial resources. Personally, I have found that when using online learning, it is very challenging to maintain momentum and commitment to completing the course work. There's a huge risk of wasting money. I would love to see the statistics comparing non-completion rates of classroom enrollment versus online enrollment. As a UFV professor, Martin owes Times readers at least that much. In addition, I am suspicious of the integrity of online learning and universities allowing degree completions without a limit on how much of the work is done using online options. I have heard too many stories of people paid to do someone else's online learning assignments. This does not bode well for the future of professional ethics. So John Martin, please give Times readers and UFV alumni a bit of credit by doing your research and presenting a more complete picture of online learning. Nellie Taylor, Abbotsford © Copyright (c) Abbotsford Times This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2010 09:18 AM PDT On Friday September 10, 2010, 12:18 pm EDT 67 WALL STREET, New York - September 10, 2010 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Education Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This Special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online. Topics covered: Regulatory Risks - Great Buying Opportunities Among Weak Stocks Companies include: ATA (ATAI); American Public Education (APEI); Blackboard (BBBB); Bridgepoint (BPI); Cambium (ABCD); Capella (CPLA); Career Education (CECO); and many more. In the following brief excerpt from the Education Special Report, expert analysts discuss the outlook for the sector and for investors. Suzanne Stein is a Securities Analyst who covers the education and analytics companies within Morgan Stanley's business services group. Previously Ms. Stein worked in equity research, covering telecom services at Goldman Sachs. Prior to that, she served as an Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. She holds a dual degree in finance and communications from the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. In 2009 Ms. Stein was named the top stock picker in specialty retailers and services in the annual Wall Street Journal "Best on the Street" survey. She was also named one of the best brokerage analysts in the consumer discretionary sector in June 2010 by Forbes. TWST: Which companies are exposed to the biggest regulatory risk? Ms. Stein: They are all exposed to regulatory risk. It is important to keep in mind that the for-profits serve a high-risk population; these students are generally lower-income, working adults, and there are many reasons they don't complete programs. Typically as you move down the scale towards the shorter-term programs, the quality metrics, such as cohort default rates and graduation rates, decline. I don't want to make predictions of failures. The market implies that Corinthian (COCO) is the one that is most at risk. It fails several of the tests; it is the lowest of its peers in terms of repayment rates; it also has a severe problem with cohort default rates. Management is taking steps to address these problems - restricting enrollments - but it is not clear that these problems can be corrected. From an investor's point of view, if you just look at the risk to the model and run the population decline and tuition cut through the model, you can see how the operating leverage in the model can reverse pretty quickly, and it doesn't take a lot to get that model to not work anymore. TWST: Last year postsecondary enrollments were really high because of the recession. How are enrollments trending at this point and where are they headed? Have the regulatory fears trickled down to consumers? Ms. Stein: There is no doubt that growth is slowing. On a percentage basis, companies are lapping huge numbers from the onset of the recession, and growth rates are now decelerating. We're seeing it more with some of these companies than others. Companies that are very countercyclical, such as those that provide short-term vocational training, are seeing the biggest slowdown. Corinthian is a good example of that, where the growth was just astronomical and it slowed pretty quickly. Some of the effect may be the industry hitting a tipping point where the economy stayed weak, unemployment was high, students weren't getting jobs. I think there is a point in time where if unemployment persists, students stop going to schools to remedy an undesirable job situation. One of the problems with the influx of students like we saw during the downturn is that the quality was lower. TWST: You view Strayer as one of the highest-quality names in the space, yet you're still underweight on the stock. Would you elaborate on your thoughts about that company and its current valuation? Ms. Stein: Our rating on Strayer (STRA), or for any stock in our coverage, does not necessarily reflect what we think of quality; it is more of a relative valuation call. When we put the "underweight" rating on Strayer, our view was that investors were pricing the stock as if it were not exposed to the same regulatory and legislative risk as the rest of the industry, which we do not believe is the case. I guess I took to heart what Senator Harkin said, that maybe there are no good apples. Not that I agree with this statement, but I believe this is how many individuals in Congress and the Department of Education view the sector. They are not distinguishing between Strayer and its peers, and are likely to regulate for-profits as a group, and this will create headwinds for everyone. It's not just going to create headwinds for the ones that people perceive to be lower quality. We changed the rating before the repayment rates were out simply because we felt at a 17 times 2011 p/e multiple there was more risk to the downside. The stock should not have been holding such a premium to the sector. I think there is still risk to the multiple. Repayment rates are low and even if this is a result of loan consolidation, I doubt the Department of Education is going to make material changes to the repayment formula. Also the high use of Pell Grants, which for Strayer was about 30% of students, makes me wonder if its students are that much higher quality than its peers'. Frankly, I am somewhat skeptical of the income numbers management has put out there, given it represents a small sample of Strayer's students. I think management said they had a 25% response rate, and I doubt it factors in zero-earners, which will drag down the numbers, giving these estimates an upward bias. The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This Special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online . The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations. For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673 This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Yahoo! News Search Results for online education degree To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment