U.S. for-profit college to pay $90-mln settlement -NY Times

Education Management

16/11/2015 15:37

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The second-largest for-profit 
college operator in the United States, Education Management Corp 
 EDMC.PK , is expected to pay nearly $90 million to settle 
charges that it enrolled students too aggressively, the New York 
Times reported on Monday. 
    The settlement, due to be announced on Monday, would be the 
largest ever false-claims agreement reached with the U.S. 
Department of Education, according to the Times. 
    It would resolve accusations that the company violated state 
consumer-protection laws by compensating employees based on how 
many students they recruited, leading to high-pressure sales 
tactics, the Times said. 
    That would also violate a ban on per capita compensation at 
schools that participate in federal student-aid programs, 
according to the Times. The school collected $11 billion in 
revenue through federal loans and grants between 2003 and 2011, 
about 90 percent of its tuition dollars. 
    Education Management, based in Pittsburgh, operates over the 
Internet and in 32 physical locations in the United States and 
Canada as the Art Institute, Argosy University, Brown Mackie 
College and South University. It offers undergraduate and 
graduate degrees. 
 
 (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and 
Jonathan Oatis) 
 ((andy.sullivan@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 354 5864; Reuters 
Messaging: andy.sullivan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: USA EDUCATION/EDUCATIONMANAGEMENT