American Public University to Expand Higher Education Opportunities for Walmart Associates

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., Jun 03, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- American Public University (APU), a member institution of the accredited American Public University System (APUS), today announced an agreement with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., to enable Walmart and Sam's Club US associates to earn a college degree at an affordable price through a combination of academic credit awarded for Walmart job learning and experience, and online coursework through APU. APU will serve as Walmart's education provider offering academic courses and degree programs to its associates.

"We share Walmart's commitment to enhance America's competitiveness by helping to increase the number of working Americans with college degrees," said Dr. Wallace E. Boston, Jr., APUS president and CEO. "We are honored to be selected by a world-leading organization to promote to their associates the qualities and attributes that are central to our mission."

According to a recent Walmart survey, 72% of the 32,000 associates responding said they preferred an online university over other options. The breadth of 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees that APU offers in a flexible online format should make it an attractive option for Walmart associates. Interested associates may apply immediately for courses starting in September.

"APU is dedicated to providing an affordable, high-quality learning experience that is designed to equip graduates for career advancement and leadership in an increasingly competitive, knowledge-based economy. We look forward to welcoming Walmart associates to our university community," he added.

Associates will be awarded job learning credit in current degree offerings in programs such as Management, Transportation and Logistics, and Security Management. APU plans to offer new concentrations in retail management and other related disciplines. In addition, through the APU and Walmart partnership, APU will offer associates a Lifelong Learning Grant to further reduce the cost of tuition. Associates are also eligible for APU's undergraduate Book Grant covering the cost of text books and related class materials.

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Obama Said to Delay For-Profit College Loan Rule

une 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration is delaying the release of a proposed rule that would cut federal financial aid flowing to for-profit colleges, Congressional aides said today. Analysts said the move means the government may back away from a regulation the industry is fighting.

The proposed rule, known as gainful employment, would disqualify Apollo Group Inc., ITT Educational Services Inc., Career Education Corp. and other for-profit colleges from receiving grants and loans if their graduates spend more than 8 percent of their starting salaries repaying student loans. Analysts said they had expected the rule to be released next week. The aides declined to be named because they said weren’t authorized to release the information.

The U.S. Department of Education is seeking to protect taxpayers from loan defaults and to stop students from taking on debt for degrees that don’t pay off with higher incomes. For- profit colleges can receive up to 90 percent of their revenue from federal grants and loans. The industry lobbied against the proposed rule, arguing that minority and low-income students would lose access to college.

“We continue to pick up comments that suggest gainful employment may be reconsidered or watered down,” Paul Ginocchio, an analyst with Deutsche Bank said in a research note.

Education stocks rallied on analysts’ reports citing the potential delay. Apollo, based in Phoenix, rose as much as $2.05, or 4.1 percent, to $52.31 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, closing at $51.10 at 4 p.m. Career Education, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, gained as much as $1.55, or 5.9 percent, to $27.72 and later fell to $26.98. ITT, based in Carmel, Indiana, gained as much as $4.44, or 4.6 percent, to $100.81 in New York Stock Exchange Composite trading and closed at $97.92.

Recruiting Practices

The Education Department is postponing the regulation to have time to pull more data together in support of the proposal, one of the Congressional aides said. Education Department spokesman Justin Hamilton declined to comment. The Education Department is still expected to release other rules related to for-profits next week, Ginocchio said. A preliminary version of the rules released in January would tighten regulation by restricting recruiting practices.

Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said yesterday he plans to hold hearings to examine the surge in federal grants and loans flowing to for-profit colleges.

Federal aid to for-profit colleges jumped to $26.5 billion last year from $4.6 billion in 2000, according to the Education Department. Students attending for-profit schools are defaulting on their federal loans at a higher rate than those at traditional schools, according to the department.

Cooking School

Under the proposed gainful employment rule, a student projected to earn $18,000 a year as a starting cook would be able to borrow about $10,000 in 10-year-loans for a cooking school, according to Matt Snowling, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Virginia. Culinary schools can now leave students with three or four times that level of debt, Snowling said.

Eighteen percent of for-profit programs would be out of compliance under the gainful employment rule, meaning they would have to shut down or cut tuition, according to a study commissioned by the Washington-based Career College Association, which represents more than 1,400 for-profit colleges. Those programs enroll 300,000 students, a third of those attending career colleges, the study found.

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Florida University Tuitions May Rise 15 Percent

Students at state universities will likely see their tuition jump 15 percent next school year, bringing the 11 institutions' historically low tuition rates more in line with other public universities around the country.

But the Florida Board of Governors must decide what to do about fee increases for some of the universities that could cause total bills to skyrocket.

Tuition is only one part of a student's overall bill and can often be covered by scholarships. But the fees charged for student activities, technology and other items can cause a semester bill to increase exponentially.

"What I hear from students on campus is we nickel and dime them on fees," Judith Solano, a board member and University of North Florida professor, said this week.

Two months ago, the Legislature gave the board the power to approve new fees for students or increase the caps on already existing charges.

The board, however, has not established any rules or regulations for new fees and hopes to do so before giving any university approval to enact them.

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Texas University Designs Online Cyber Security Master's Program

Our Lady of the Lake University has launched a new 30-credit hour program that allows students to earn an online master's degree in computer information systems and security that has been certified by the National Security Agency. The program can be completed in a year by technology professionals and covers subjects encompassing database management, systems analysis, computer network security, information assurance, and certification and accreditation. For students whose undergraduate degree isn't in a technical area, the San Antonio, TX-based institution also offers a one-semester online cyber security "boot camp." This program, the university said, qualifies the student to pursue the master's degree. Topics in the compressed program include programming, computer security, systems analysis and design, database analysis and design, and networking technology. "We have designed the degree so that interested professionals from anywhere in the world with computer access can further their career," said Ted Ahlberg, assistant professor. "The degree has all the elements needed for the professional to prepare to protect organizational information from theft, corruption, and natural disaster."

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Indiana Gets Fully Online University

The online university is the first of its kind for Indiana.
Governor Mitch Daniels says the Western Governor's University Of Indiana will help more Hoosiers to get a higher education.
The governor says as more non-traditional students turn to college online- this is the perfect time for an Indiana based school to join in.
Not every potential college student can earn a degree- the traditional way.
Now non traditional students from around the world can be a part of Western Governor's University Indiana- the state's first fully online university.
"Particularly our adult aspirants to pursue the college degree they've always wanted and needed on a schedule they can mange and at a cost they can afford," Daniels said.
WGU Indiana is being funded in part by two grants-- no state tax dollars will be used.
Online college is where students and teachers correspond using the internet and telephone.
"The student can move at his or her own pace you don't have to wait for the date on a calendar to take an exam," Daniels said.
The University's Of Southern Indiana's director of instructional technology Dana Willett says about 3,800 USI students took at least one distance education class last semester.
"They help students meet the need of a certain lifestyle work full or part time may have children at home they may have other needs that require them to get their classes in some way other than coming to campus," Willett said.

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