Thread regarding Corinthian Colleges Inc. layoffs

22885 - there's been some spotty enforcement to be sure, but indications of more scrutiny and tougher penalties. It's spooked the industry and I imagine all of our competition is working behind the scenes to quietly get their practices in line. At this moment in time, I would expect lots of due diligence in every area of operations.

22865, I think to call it highly regulated is overstating it. They have a lot of regulations. But clearly, looking at what's happening with CCI and the recent media coverage, not a lot of regulating is actually happening.

Anonymous22870: I think you may be correct. I'd give another try to a bad restaurant if I saw "under new management" on the window, but I'm not so sure about a college. Then again, I could never understand how we could get students after saturating the tv with our hood ads. It seems like that should have tarnished our rep without us needing ED and states attorneys general raising alarms.

I've been in this industry 20+ years and don't remember ever seeing this much negative media coverage of a company. That creates another problem for a potential buyer. Of course they will rebrand, but the attention CCi got the location will stick in people's minds and tarnish the location, no matter what brand is in place there. Rebranding has always been the easy way to wiggle out of a bad reputation, but this reputation is truly toxic.

I think that one key - pointed out in the artcle - is whether or not the DOE will agree not to impose penalties or demand repyment of funding on a new owner for transgressions committed by CCI (i.e. falsifying attendance to keep fed funding). Without that assurance/protection, any buyer is assuming huge risk, which may not be justified by the ROI. At he end of the day, anyone willing to buy this badly abused used car will need to consider if there is anything of value left here. No real estate, declining enrollment, poor attendance, high drop-out rate, significant debt, potential penalties or return of fed dollars. Any takers?

That's the thing when a school is sold. It's a highly regulated industry and any company worth its salt is going to do intense due diligence. There are a whole lotta worms to find in CCi's woodwork. If the buyer is a for-profit ed company, they will know where to look. It's going to make all of us look bad that we were part of it.

They need to scrutinize attendance records from last term. Potential buyers need to know if federal financial aid laws were violated by allowing students to remain enrolled in classes, despite the fact that the student has not attended classes for weeks on end. That may be a problem.

They've slashed adjunct jobs, increased class sizes to plus 30, and have had issues with getting textbooks to students. If you were a student, would you feel valued? If you are a student, aren't instructors and textbooks the most important part if your education? If you were a potential buyer, knowing students were so low on the priority list, would you want to buy the school? Especially if you are a non profit.

If publishing houses are refusing to sell textbooks until the first day of classes, does that mean nothing's changed? Their own vendors are refusing to extend credit and they can't get more credit. The only money CCI currently gets is from federal and private loans and money students come up with themselves. That's it. How long can this company function on that? They better get those sales closed now, because layoffs are likely imminent all around. (They've already slashed instructors and added to class sizes.)

Yeah, it amazed me how few of our campuses the company owns. Lots of posts about prospective lessees being walked through schools. If the company had an ace in the hole in terms of long-term assets, they blew that the last round of troubles. Not many other places to cut except employees...

Agree w/22849. Even if the DOE continues to release funds for enrolled students, the significantly decreased number of students threaten the company's ability to meet fixed and variable expenses, even for a teach-out. The company has little or no ability to access credit, so the only answer is to drastically cut expenses. Real estate has already been sold and leased back. What is the largest single remainng expense? Payroll. Decisions about what campuses to close may be taken out of management's hands based on cash-flow. Not a pretty picture.

I think employees who still think nothing is wrong or has changed are going to be it's shocked when everything goes to teach out. Schools with low enrollment, no properties owned, and running full staffs despite fewer students do NOT sell. And even if they do, what do you think is going to happen with current employees? Raises for everyone? I should say current employees who make the next round of layoffs. If there are fewer students, they get less money. How can they keep fully running operations without funding to do so? What does that mean? Layoffs. It's just a guess but the simple math stands. Add/drop ends on Sunday. And let's not forget the dropout rate, where $ goes back to the Feds. I think we will see some changes in the coming weeks.

Anonymous22819- After doing a few thousand pages of research, I doubt a Federal Judge will be quick to suggest that ED is acting arbitrary. The Administrative Procedures Act is being followed this time. No one should have challenged the rules before, since it appears things are just getting worse, not better.

A judge already threw the 2012 gainful rules out and this next set will never see light of day from the legal challenges. I think next week the buyer of Heald will be announced.

And that's the fact, Jack!!!

Uh oh. Some reporters aren't using cci's 'fact' sheet!!!

Is this really us, Jack?