Career Education Corporation (
CEC), founded in 1994, is a postsecondary education provider with campus-based and online curricula. On July 1, 2003, Career Education Corporation merged with competitor Whitman Education Group, Inc., gaining control over the latter's Sanford-Brown Colleges, Ultrasound Diagnostic Schools (now known as the Sanford-Brown Institute), and
Colorado Technical UniversitiesColorado Technical University is a for-profit university in the United States. Founded in 1965, CTU offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in a number of subjects, focused primarily in the business, management, and technology disciplines...
. And also the former Western School of Health and Business.
The organization operates over eighty for-profit college campuses with approximately 116,000 students enrolled.
CEC schools include
California Culinary AcademyThe California Culinary Academy is an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu, and is located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1977, the academy has trained more than 15,000 people for restaurant careers through its 30-week baking and pastry chef program and 16-month culinary arts degree program...
,
Brown College (Minnesota)Brown College is a for-profit school and is a subsidiary of Career Education Corporation. It is located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, near Minneapolis/St. Paul...
, the
Harrington College of DesignHarrington College of Design is located in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. It offers students programs leading to either a master's, bachelor's, or associate's degree upon completion of the Interior Design Program, Digital Photography Program, or Communication Design Program. Each program is...
, the
Brooks Institute of PhotographyBrooks Institute is a system of two for-profit private arts colleges based in Santa Barbara, California and Ventura, California, owned by Career Education Corporation. Formally known as "Brooks Institute of Photography," Brooks Institute offers four majors, two certificate programs and two...
,
Brooks CollegeBrooks College was a system of two for-profit colleges in Long Beach and Sunnyvale, California. They offered career college programs in a variety of areas. The school in Long Beach was best known for its fashion design and fashion marketing programs...
, the Katharine Gibbs Schools,
American InterContinental UniversityAmerican InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation ....
(AIU),
Colorado Technical UniversityColorado Technical University is a for-profit university in the United States. Founded in 1965, CTU offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in a number of subjects, focused primarily in the business, management, and technology disciplines...
, Sanford-Brown Institutes and Sanford-Brown Colleges, Collins College,
Lehigh Valley CollegeLehigh Valley College was a college owned by Career Education Corporation, a for-profit educational company. The college was located near Allentown, Pennsylvania, in Center Valley which is approximately outside of Philadelphia and offered associate degree programs in a variety of vocational...
,
Briarcliffe CollegeBriarcliffe College consists of three for-profit career colleges in Long Island City, New York, Bethpage and Patchogue on Long Island, New York. They offer Associate's or Bachelor's degree programs in a variety of areas including Graphic Design, Criminal Justice, Business, Photography and...
,
International Academy of Design and TechnologyThe International Academy of Design and Technology is a for-profit media arts college accredited by a national agency, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools .- International Academy of Design and Technology :...
and Western School of Health and Business Careers.
Schools owned by CEC are located throughout the US, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. They offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's, and associate's degrees, as well as diploma and certificate programs.
Controversies and federal scrutiny
CEC was investigated by the
United States Securities and Exchange CommissionThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a federal agency which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States...
for various issues of non-compliance in 2005. In January 2008, CEC reported that the SEC has closed its investigation and will take no action against the company. A
Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
investigation began in 1994 and was terminated in April 2007, with the DOJ declining prosecution. Another investigation on a different matter was begun by the Civil Division of the DOJ in June 2006 and is currently ongoing.
In June 2005, the U.S. Department of Education prohibited CEC from expanding until it had resolved issues with financial statements and program reviews connected with
Collins CollegeCollins College is a private, for-profit college that specializes in the fields of visual arts and design. Owned by parent company, Career Education Corporation, Collins College has two campuses and many sister schools across the United States. The main campus is located in southeast Phoenix, with...
and
Brooks CollegeBrooks College was a system of two for-profit colleges in Long Beach and Sunnyvale, California. They offered career college programs in a variety of areas. The school in Long Beach was best known for its fashion design and fashion marketing programs...
two CEC schools. In January 2007, the U.S. Department of Education lifted its restrictions on the company opening new schools or acquiring existing ones.
CEC's most profitable division,
American InterContinental UniversityAmerican InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation ....
, was placed on probation in December 2005 with its accrediting agency,
SACSThe Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
. The probation status was reviewed after one year, in December 2006, and extended an additional 12 months. On December 11, 2007, CEC announced that SACS has removed AIU's probation and that the university's accreditation remains in good standing.
Brooks CollegeBrooks College was a system of two for-profit colleges in Long Beach and Sunnyvale, California. They offered career college programs in a variety of areas. The school in Long Beach was best known for its fashion design and fashion marketing programs...
, a CEC owned school, was the subject of an unfavorable examination of for-profit trade schools in the
CBS newsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
magazine
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
which focused on alleged misrepresentations by admission representatives to prospective students. A CBS producer with a hidden camera visited several CEC schools in the New York area, including the Katharine Gibbs School, and uncovered alleged instances of misrepresentations by admissions representatives.
In June 2007, Career Education Corporation announced that it will close both campuses of Brooks College.
In January 2007, the New York State Education Department reported deficiencies at the Katharine Gibbs School's New York campus. The problems related to faculty qualifications and remedial course offerings. New enrollment has been limited and the Education Department has stated it will close the college if improvements are not made.
California Culinary Academy, which was purchased by CEC in 1999, was the subject of an unfavorable article in the
San Francisco Weekly focusing on misrepresentations and omissions made to prospective students to enroll them in the school. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a lawsuit was filed over the matter.
Downsizing
After seeking unsuccessfully to sell several of its campuses, in June 2007 Career Education announced that it would close the
Brooks CollegeBrooks College was a system of two for-profit colleges in Long Beach and Sunnyvale, California. They offered career college programs in a variety of areas. The school in Long Beach was best known for its fashion design and fashion marketing programs...
campuses in
SunnyvaleSunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
and
Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, and the Pittsburgh branch of the
International Academy of Design and TechnologyThe International Academy of Design and Technology is a for-profit media arts college accredited by a national agency, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools .- International Academy of Design and Technology :...
. No new enrollments would be accepted, and the final graduation dates would be September 2008 at the Sunnyvale campus, December 2008 in Pittsburgh, and March 2009 in Long Beach.
On February 2008 Career Education Corporation announced that it would also phase out operations of nine money-losing colleges, including several
Gibbs CollegeKatharine Gibbs College was a private for-profit institution of higher learning based in the United States of America, founded by Katharine Gibbs....
campuses,
Lehigh Valley CollegeLehigh Valley College was a college owned by Career Education Corporation, a for-profit educational company. The college was located near Allentown, Pennsylvania, in Center Valley which is approximately outside of Philadelphia and offered associate degree programs in a variety of vocational...
, and
McIntosh CollegeMcIntosh College, founded in 1896, was an educational institution located in Dover, New Hampshire. It granted Associate's degrees in a variety of vocational areas, including business management, criminal justice, graphic design and massage therapy. The college closed in 2009.- History :McIntosh...
in
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and to seek permission to convert two Gibbs college locations to Sanford-Brown College campuses.
On February 18, 2008 CEC's
American InterContinental UniversityAmerican InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation ....
announced plans to gradually close down its Los Angeles campus. Current students would have the opportunity to complete their programs, but no new students would be enrolled. Dr. George Miller, CEO of American InterContinental University, said “the impact of a two-year probation, coupled with the current market for AIU’s programs in Los Angeles, is such that the student population at the campus has decreased significantly, and likely will not reach the sustainable level necessary to support the addition of new programs and necessary resources.”
External links