Bridgepoint Tanks on Accreditation Review
Shares of Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI) are collapsing today following the company’s disclosure that the for-profit school’s accrediting agency has asked for a report from Bridgepoint’s Ashford University, which has been placed under the agency’s ‘special monitoring’ status. Ashford,…
Ashford was denied accreditation earlier this week by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), to which the school had applied because its accreditation by HLC is being reviewed for compliance with HLC’s requirement that a school have a “substantial presence” in the agency’s region. Much of Ashford’s activity has moved to the Northwest, in WASC’s jurisdiction, and out of HLC’s region.
At stake is Ashford’s eligibility for federal student aid, which accounts for the bulk of the school’s revenue. WASC denied accreditation to the school because the agency said it spent more money on recruiting students than educating them. Now HLC wants to review Ashford’s operations for the same reasons.
Bridgepoint’s shares are down -24% at $9.83 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.53 earlier this morning. The previous 52-week range was $12.80-$30.62.
Paul Ausick
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
