For-Profit Colleges

ITT Educational Services, a for-profit college chain specializing in technical programs, last week announced that it had agreed to a $46 million settlement payment to Sallie Mae, according to a corporate filing. The settlement was related to a lawsuit filed by the lending giant, Reuters reported, which argued that ITT had breached a shared loan risk agreement. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Connecticut officials are investigating the sudden closure this week of three for-profit colleges, The Hartford Courant reported. Two of the campuses are Sawyer Schools, and one is a Butler Business School. All are owned by Academic Enterprises, Inc. State regulations require 60 days' notice of a school closure, and that was not given. School officials could not be reached.

Wyoming's attorney general has sued DegreeinaDay.com, which is based in Cheyenne, asking that it stop operating as an unaccredited institution, The Casper Star-Tribune reported. The site offered degrees in medicine, cosmetic dermatology, law and teaching based on life experience. The suit charged that the institution had no authority to award degrees. Officials from the website could not be reached for comment.

Late Wednesday the U.S. Senate passed legislation aimed at requiring colleges to be more transparent about how they serve veterans. The bill, which was approved during gridlock on Capitol Hill, had received broad support from veterans' groups, for-profit institutions and advocates for traditional higher education. First introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, the legislation was less sweeping than a related Senate bill that quickly stalled.

The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, a national accrediting agency, has dropped an inquiry into 10 campuses owned by Career Education Corp., the for-profit higher education provider announced Tuesday. The accreditor had asked the company to "show cause" why the campuses should not have their accreditation withdrawn in the wake of Career Education's earlier acknowledgment that it lacked sufficient documentation for some job placement data. The campuses are now free to pursue new academic program approvals.

John Sperling, who founded the Apollo Group and its University of Phoenix in 1972, will retire as executive chairman of the company's board of directors at the end of this month, Apollo announced today. His son, Peter Sperling, will take over as the board's chairman.