Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) on Senate Bill 5384: "Returning Education to Our States Act"

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D has introduced the Returning Education to Our States Act (Senate Bill 5384) to eliminate the US Department of Education and “redistribute all critical functions under other departments.”  

The Bill was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on November 21, 2024, but currently has no co-sponsors. Senate Bill 5384 can be tracked at Congress.gov.

In introducing S.5384, Rounds stated that “Local school boards and state departments of education know best what their students need, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.”

According to Government Executive:

Education programs would be spread across the departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor and State. Initiatives supporting Native Americans would go to Interior, various loan and the Pell Grant programs would transfer to Treasury, programs supporting special education and disabled children would move to HHS, efforts to fund vocational and career programs would shift to Labor and the Fulbright-Hays Program would fall under State. Not all of Education would receive a reassignment: programs involving teacher preparation, initiatives for economically disadvantaged students, work-study and many others do not appear to receive a home under the bill. 

$6 Billion Student Loan Reimbursement Program Launching in Connecticut (NBC Connecticut)

Connecticut is launching a pilot program for student loan reimbursement.The program was part of a bipartisan effort passed by the state legislature, and in response to the overwhelming number of Connecticut residents struggling with their loans. The Office of High Education projects 100,000 borrowers are eligible to enroll when the program begins on January 1, 2025.

The Office of Higher Education may approve the participation of any person in the student loan reimbursement program who (PA 24-81): 

1. Must have graduated from a Connecticut state public or private college or university with a bachelor’s or associate degree or have an occupational/professional license or certificate or left such college in good standing and was granted a hardship waiver by the Office of Higher Education.
2. Must be a Connecticut resident for at least five years.
3. Must have a Connecticut adjusted gross income of not more than $125,000 for single applicants and file a federal tax return as unmarried or have a Connecticut adjusted gross income of not more than $175,000 for married applicants and file a federal tax return as head of household, married filing jointly or a surviving spouse.
4. Must have an outstanding student loan balance and made payments in 2024 toward federal direct loans, federal direct PLUS loans, federal Perkins loans, CHESLA loan or other state’s sponsored student loan, or a private student loan.
5. Must have volunteered for at least 50 hours at a Connecticut nonprofit organization that is registered with the Department of Consumer Protection, municipal government, served on the Board of Directors for a nonprofit organization or has military service after Jan. 1, 2024.

200+ Colleges and Universities Use Discord

200+ colleges and universities are on Discord. Create a home where members can talk, feel welcome, and build relationships. Once the dominion of white supremacists and right wing activists, teachers, student organizations, and protest groups are using it to their advantage. 

 

Accreditor ACCSC Again Grants Maximum Renewal To Troubled For-Profit Colleges (David Halperin)

College accreditor ACCSC has renewed approval of four for-profit colleges owned by California-based International Education Corp. (IEC), a company that was forced to shut down many of its campuses in the past year after a U.S. Department of Education investigation revealed the schools were rigging student entrance exams and engaging in other fraudulent conduct.

By memo dated November 15, ACCSC noticed the public that it had renewed accreditation of four IEC-owned schools for five years, which is the maximum period of renewal that ACCSC grants to colleges. Three of the schools — in Gardena, Riverside, and Sacramento, California — are branded as UEI College, while the fourth, called United Education Institute, is in Las Vegas.

Abuses at IEC schools

In February, the Department of Education terminated financial aid eligibility to another IEC-owned chain called Florida Career College, and the school closed. As part of the resolution of that matter, the CEO of IEC, Fardad Fateri, stepped down. The Department acted because it found, as described in a detailed 38-page letter sent to FCC in April 2023, blatant cheating at FCC on “ability-to-benefit” entrance exams for students without a high school diploma.

Republic Report, relying on interviews with numerous FCC staff, had first exposed that long-running rampant misconduct, along with other blatant recruiting and financial abuses, at FCC. FCC’s misbehavior lured numerous students — veterans, single parents, immigrants, and other struggling Americans — into low-quality school programs that left them deep in debt and without the career advancement they sought.

The Department’s February settlement agreement with IEC indicated that the Department had an open investigation of potential violations at UEI similar to those found at FCC. The settlement barred UEI from administering ATB tests going forward. As part of the settlement, the Department agreed to end its investigation of UEI, if UEI complied with the settlement agreement. That investigation of UEI is apparently now over.

However, a September 2023 letter from ACCSC to IEC revealed that the company was also under investigation by California’s attorney general. It’s unclear whether that investigation remains open.

ACCSC was not the accreditor of Florida Career College, but it does accredit some of the UEI campuses. Soon after the Department announced in April 2023 that it was moving to cut off federal student aid to FCC, ACCSC placed UEI College and International Education Corp. on “System-Wide Warning” status, citing the Department’s findings that senior IEC leaders knew of and encouraged the cheating, and also citing IEC’s alleged failure to inform ACCSC of the Department’s investigation in a timely manner. ACCSC also noted that IEC had voluntarily halted ability-to-benefit testing and enrollment at UEI; the accreditor’s May 2023 order included a requirement that such testing and enrollment be suspended — suggesting already that there might be questions about ATB testing at UEI.

Yet now ACCSC has renewed accreditation for IEC/UEI schools for the maximum period, the same renewal that it would grant to the best-behaving schools. The renewals are effective back to dates in 2020 and 2022, reflecting in part that ACCSC delayed decisions on renewal while the schools were being evaluated, so the schools must seek renewal again soon. But it’s fair to ask whether the full five-year renewals were appropriate, or whether, instead, ACCSC continues to tolerate college abuses, to the detriment of both students and of the U.S. taxpayers who support the hundreds of millions in federal financial aid that have flowed to ACCSC schools.

ACCSC executive director Michale McComis did not respond to a request for comment regarding the renewal for the IEC schools.

Abuses at other ACCSC-accredited schools

The question of ACCSC’s tolerance for predatory college abuses is again squarely presented as ACCSC faces its own next review: its application to be renewed in 2026 by the Department of Education as a recognized accreditor, a status that allows schools it accredits to be eligible for federal student grants and loans. The maximum renewal period for this gatekeeper status is also five years. That review process is already underway at the Department.

The last time ACCSC was up for renewal, in 2021, the Department, citing failures by ACCSC in curbing long-running abuses at another awful predatory college operation, the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (owner of now-shuttered Independence University), delayed renewal of recognition, required ACCSC to explain its conduct, and ultimately extended ACCSC f0r three years instead of five — although the way the process went forward, the practical effect, disappointingly, was a five year renewal.

Data shows many ACCSC schools have left students worse off than when they started.

Since ACCSC’s last review, the accreditor has engaged in other troubling behavior.

Most notably, as Republic Report first reported, in July 2023, ACCSC had watched while Atlantis University, a Miami-based for-profit school, acted in blatant violation of an ACCSC rule governing the use of “branch campuses” tied to a school’s central campus. Atlantis’s executive director was, at the time, the chair of ACCSC.

The Atlantis branch campus, called Florida Palms University, shut down soon after our report. ACCSC then put Atlantis on warning status, via a letter that, as we noted at the time, was heavily redacted in the version released to the public. Whatever problems the many blacked-out passages of the October 2023 letter concealed stood in sharp contrast to ACCSC’s unconditional five-year renewal of Atlantis in December 2022. ACCSC removed Atlantis from warning status by February 2024.

This year, after Republic Report had repeatedly been able to learn valuable information about the bad behavior of some ACCSC-accredited schools through the public release of detailed letters from the accreditor to schools like UEI and Atlantis — at least the unredacted portions — ACCSC moved away from transparency and accountability. It started releasing, instead of the actual letters to schools, vague summaries that keep the public in the dark about what is actually happening.

ACCSC is also the accreditor of troubled Connecticut-based for-profit Paier College, which faces possible closure after losing access to federal student aid and having been sued for deceptive practices by the state’s attorney general. ACCSC placed Paier on warning status in June, citing low graduation rates and weak validation of faculty credentials. But that action by ACCSC came six months after the school, facing scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education, voluntarily withdrew from eligibility for federal student grants and loans.

Another ACCSC school, Career College of Northern Nevada (CCNN), abruptly closed in February, replacing its website with a closure notice and literally locking students out of the building.

In June 2023, yet another ACCSC-accredited school, Hussian College, suddenly shut down. In June 2022, ACCSC had put Hussian on system-wide warning, citing concerns about student achievement at the schools. But ACCSC removed the warning and renewed Hussian’s accreditation in December 2022.

ACCSC also accredits Florida’s for-profit Southeastern College. There is much evidence suggesting that that school, owned by ultra-rich Floridians Arthur and Belinda Keiser, effectively receives improper subsidies from Keiser University, a non-profit college controlled by the Keisers.

ACCSC’s renewal application and the new Trump administration

Members of the public have until December 6 to submit written comments to the Department of Education regarding ACCSC’s bid for renewal.

The Biden administration, and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, to their credit, took much more seriously the Department’s obligation to review accreditors for their vigilance in guarding against predatory college abuses than the first Trump administration and Secretary Betsy DeVos did. If the second Trump administration, and new education secretary pick Linda McMahon, truly want to help students, and truly want to implement the incoming administration’s professed commitment to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal government programs, then it should continue the Biden team’s work of holding predatory colleges accountable — and also holding accountable the accreditors that allow such abuses to persist.

[Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Republic Report.] 

The Roaring 2020's: For-Profit Education and Incarceration Profit from Trump Win

American investors are betting heavily on for-profit online education and mass incarceration. Shares of LRN (Stride), a company that operates cyber charter schools, have increased in value by about 60 percent over the last 30 days, reaching an all-time high today.  Stride has a number of institutional investors, including state employee and teacher retirement funds.  

Shares of GEO Group (GEO), an owner and operator of private prisons, have increased more than 90 percent over the last month. It also has a large number of big investors, including BlackRock, Vanguard, and Goldman Sachs.  

Austerity and Disruption

With a concerted effort now to reduce government spending, higher education leaders should expect reduced state and federal support in 2025 and beyond, with demographic and climate trends also darkening the clouds. Workers and consumers should also see it all coming. 

Austerity has already begun. In July 2024, the Pew Foundation reported that state budgets were facing cuts as Covid-era funds ended.  The most notable cuts are coming to the California State University System, which is expected to reduce its budget by hundred of millions of dollars. But several other states are feeling the pinch. 

Austerity for higher education is also likely to increase at the state level as baby boomers reach advanced age and require more medical attention and nursing home care. How this demographic cliff of old age, reduced fertility, and fluctuating populations plays out will vary greatly across the United States. 

Some Southern states, like Florida, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina, have improved financially despite threats from climate change. Anti-tax, anti-regulation, and anti-union laws make them friendly to corporations in search of relocation and a better deal. States in the West, like Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, are are also likely to continue thriving. Besides climate change, which is profoundly disruptive but takes generations to notice, mass deportations could affect their economies quickly--if the Trump Administration's threats can be carried out. 

Alaska, New Mexico, Oregon, and several states in the Midwest and Atlantic regions will face more austerity as their populations remain stagnant or decline and folks move to states with lower housing costs and less taxes, leaving others to die. Deaths of despair among youth will continue to ravage them. What happens with these failing states in the future is anyone's guess. One would hope higher education leaders would have solutions and be courageous enough to act, or at the very least allow those with solutions to talk. 

Guild Education Board Member Johny C. Taylor Jr. Short-Listed for Secretary of Labor

Johny C. Taylor Jr, President of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), has been short-listed for the position of US Secretary of Labor. 

HEI is covering this story because Mr. Taylor is also a board member of Guild, an edtech company we have been covering since 2021. Moving forward, we are also interested in following any decisions he could make affecting labor in higher education. American labor itself is under attack as Amazon and SpaceX are challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board.

According to his bio at SHRM, Johny C. Taylor Jr. has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/InteractiveCorp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He previously served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the Trump Administration.

An African American man whose salary at SHRM is greater than $1.3 million a year, Taylor has been a proponent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace. But as the chief executive of SHRM, he would be an opponent of unions.

Guild, formerly known as Guild Education, works for Fortune 500 companies like Walmart, Disney, JP Morgan Chase, and Chipotle to train and retrain workers as the workforce is systematically reduced through technology. Guild has been in financial decline after being lauded by Forbes and other business media.

If he is selected for the Department of Labor or any other government post, we'll have to see if Mr. Taylor's work at SHRM, Guild, or his other board seats affects management decisions, especially if the organization he manages is forced to downsize.  

Seeking Whistleblowers in Higher Education

The Higher Education Inquirer is seeking whistleblowers who can tell us what is happening in higher education as the Trump Administration takes control over the federal government. The information needs to be reliable and credible. Leads are fine, but verifiable documents are better. 

We are particularly interested in obtaining information related to the US Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security,  Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Department of Labor, the Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies related to higher education and employment. 

We are also interested in those involved in higher education administration and finance, particularly at elite universities and state flagship universities. With a few exceptions, we expect university presidents at elite universities to stay quiet, clamp down further on dissent and fall in line with any new policies, as the threat to tax them at higher rates becomes a concern. 

In the past we have relied heavily on Freedom of Information Act requests, which often take months, and multiple efforts, to obtain important data. Sometimes the information is delayed for years or never comes. And right now, we can't afford to wait.  

Since 2016, HEI has recruited a number of courageous people for inside information about for-profit colleges.  This has included informants from the University of Phoenix, Ashford University (aka University of Arizona Global), and Kaplan University (aka Purdue University Global) and the lead generators they schools have hired. 

We have also communicated with people associated with online program managers, such as 2U and Academic Partnerships.  

All of this information has been helpful in exposing the back rooms of the higher education business. 

Now, more than ever, we need information that folks won't find anytime soon in other news outlets.  News that workers, consumers, and their families can use to make better decisions about their life choices. 

2024 DMN Academic Freedom Lecture (Judith P. Butler)

Judith Butler is Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School and formerly the Maxine Elliot Chair in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Related links:

Protest Stories in the Higher Education Inquirer

'4B' (4 Nos) movement picks up steam in U.S. after election (NBC News)

The “4B" movement is trending on social media after Donald Trump won the presidential election. In the US, it is also called "4 Nos" and "Lysistrata." Originating in South Korea, the feminist campaign includes no giving birth, dating or having sex with men. NBC News’ Emilie Ikeda details why this trend is gaining steam.

  

Related links:

Student Protests in the Higher Education Inquirer

Methods of Student Nonviolent Resistance 

Tens Of Thousands Of Students Went Cycling At Night (CNN) 

Tens Of Thousands Of Students Went Cycling At Night (CNN)

Under the new Trump presidency, can US student protestors learn from Chinese students?

Related links:

Student Protests in the Higher Education Inquirer

Methods of Student Nonviolent Resistance

What's happening with higher education enrollment? (Bryan Alexander with Doug Shapiro)

This week, Bryan Alexander (Future Trends Forum) spoke with Doug Shapiro, Vice President for Research and Executive Director of the Research Center at the National Student Clearinghouse, to explore the latest college enrollment numbers. 

 

 

Related links:

College Meltdown 3.0 Could Start Earlier (And End Worse) Than Planned

Starting my new book project: Peak Higher Education (Bryan Alexander)

Long-Term Care:Aging Baby Boom Generation Will Increase Demand and Burden on Federal and State Budgets (Government Accountability Office, 2002)

Forecasting the College Meltdown (2016)

Charting the College Meltdown (2017)

US Department of Education Fails to Recognize College Meltdown (2017)

Community Colleges at the Heart of the College Meltdown (2017)

College Enrollment Continues Decline in Several States (2018) 

The College Dream is Over (Gary Roth, 2020)

The Growth of RoboColleges and Robostudents (2021)

Even Elite Schools Have Subprime Majors (2021)

College Meltdown 2.0 (2022)

State Universities and the College Meltdown (2022) 

"20-20": Many US States Have Seen Enrollment Drops of More Than 20 Percent (2022) 

US Department of Education Projects Increasing Higher Ed Enrollment From 2024-2030. Really?(2022)

EdTech Meltdown (2023) 

Enrollment cliff? What enrollment cliff ? (2023)

Department of Education Fails (Again) to Modify Enrollment Projection (2023)

When Will Higher Education Revenues Peak? (2023)

Baby Boomers Turning 80: The Flip Side of the 2026 Enrollment Cliff (2023) 

College Mania!, College Meltdown, and the other "C" Words

What are we seeing in US higher education and American society today?  Lower college enrollments (for some colleges), high student loan debt (for some consumers) and upward mobility and increasing wealth for others. Many of us hope to be the fortunate ones, through hard work and persistence.

Culture and society (including myths, marketing and advertising, and media) tell folks that higher education is essential and elite education is necessary for upward social mobility. Others see higher education, especially borrowing money to go to school, as a road to nowhere: of untold debt and unhappiness. What people are seeing would seem to be confusing, but it shouldn't be if we understand our system and how it works.  

 

Capitalism (also known as neoliberalism) is the underlying program or structure that guides behavior in the US. We are immersed in it. It also guides other values that we may hold about family, religion, government, and the economy. Under this system, the differences between the rich and poor have been increasing for more than a half century and life expectancy and fertility rates are stagnant.

Consumers are bombarded with stories that reflect how we should perceive higher education. The stories that we see and hear may vary and may appear contradictory if we are willing to look at all sides. Some of the stories are myths, others are downright lies. Targeted marketing means that we may not get the same messages as others. 

Class is how the program of capitalism works, with elites at the top, small business owners and managers in the middle, and workers who do the labor necessary to keep society running.  These distinctions may be small in some places and enormous in others, and there may even be overlap in wealth and income.  Social mobility is possible, but in the US social mobility is stagnant for many non-immigrants. Workers are sometimes appreciated but often unappreciated and even scapegoated. 

Communities are diverse and cut across class boundaries and even geography. Groups seen as homogeneous are rarely that. And stereotypes are used (and misused) as a short hand for understanding other people or even ourselves. 

Civics is a formal understanding how the program/system works and typically how to be a good citizen. The idea of what makes a good citizen varies. Civics can be used as a tool of social control or a tool of reform and innovation. 

Conflict consists of opposing thoughts and actions. It can exist inside of us as well as outside, causing cognitive dissonance for those who are mindful. Some degree of conflict is necessary for society to be healthy. Too much conflict can destroy the fabric of society. 

Dozens of Religious Schools Under Department of Education Heightened Cash Monitoring

The US Department of Education (ED) has placed a number of religious colleges and universities under Heightened Cash Monitoring (HCM).  For a complete list of institutions under HCM, and a brief explanation of each institution's status, go to the US Department of Education website. 

According to ED, "Heightened Cash Monitoring is a step that Federal Student Aid (FSA) can take with institutions to provide additional oversight for a number of financial or federal compliance issues, some of which may be serious and others that may be less troublesome."

While specific reasons for HCM vary, common factors may include financial mismanagement, student aid violations, and fraud or abuse (allegations of fraudulent activities, such as falsifying enrollment data or misrepresenting program offerings). 

Here's a partial list:

Arkansas Baptist College
Central Baptist College
Ecclesia College
America Evangelical University
Dominican University of California
Epic Bible College
Naropa University
Wesley Theological Seminary
Wesley College
Hope College of Arts and Sciences
St. John Vianney College Seminary
Reformed University
Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary
Christian Theological Seminary
Bethany College
Central Christian College of Kansas
Kansas Christian College
Manhattan Christian College
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
Lexington Theological Seminary
Boston Baptist College
Hellenic College & Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
Northpoint Bible College
Saint John's Seminary
Ecumenical Theological Seminary
Bethany Global University
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Calvary University
Eden Theological Seminary
Evangel University
Carolina Christian College
Central Yeshiva Beth Joseph
Elim Bible Institute and College
Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem of America
New York Seminary (The)
Rabbinical College of Ohr Shimon Yisroel
Rabbinical Seminary of America
Saint Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry
Seminar L'Moros Bais Yaakov
St. Paul's School of Nursing (1)
St. Paul's School of Nursing (2)
Torah Temimah Talmudical Seminary
Union Theological Seminary
Yeshiva of Nitra Rabbinical College
Antioch College

Presidents’ Alliance Reaffirms Higher Education’s “Steadfast Commitment” to Immigrant, Refugee, and International Students

For Immediate Release: November 6, 2024
Contact: Michael Earls at michael@npagency.com

Washington D.C. – As the nation reflects on the results of yesterday’s election, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration reaffirms our steadfast commitment to undocumented, immigrant-origin, international, and refugee students, and policies that recognize their essential role in the future workforce and leadership of our country.

Miriam Feldblum, Executive Director of the Presidents’ Alliance, stated:

“A central mission of higher education is to educate and equip individuals from all backgrounds to unleash their talent and potential. That belief underscores our advocacy for policies and supports that provide opportunities for international students, refugees, and Dreamers with and without DACA. In a post-election environment of uncertainty and anxiety for many on our campuses, our commitment to students, staff, and faculty from around the world remains steadfast, as does our belief in their essential role in our nation’s economic vitality and competitiveness.”

Nancy Cantor, President of Hunter College at CUNY and Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Presidents’ Alliance, stated:

“The presence of diverse students, staff, and faculty from around the world enriches the learning experience, advances knowledge, spurs scientific and technological innovation, and brings fresh perspectives to our campuses, communities, and the nation. Together, we remain committed to advancing our shared vision of a welcoming, innovative, and thriving future—one that draws on the strengths and talents of every individual, regardless of background or immigration status.”

On November 15th at 2:00 p.m. EST, the Presidents’ Alliance will be hosting a virtual briefing, to discuss post-election priorities and prospects for higher education and immigration policy. To register for the briefing, please click here.

Below, find a collection of resources and information for campuses to support undocumented, refugee, and international students in this post-election period.

Resources Read the Presidents’ Alliance 1-page guide, Five Ways Campuses Can Support Non-Citizen Students and Employees Post-Election
Presidents’ Alliance Directory: Resources to Support DACA recipients, Undocumented Students, and Institutions of Higher Education
Higher Ed Immigration Portal directory: Beyond DACA: A Directory of Resources for Undocumented Students & Individuals
Community resources: find “Know Your Rights” resources from Informed Immigrant and ACLU and see Switchboard’s guide, “Safety and Security in Polarized Political Environments” Additional Upcoming Post-Election Webinars hosted by UC Immigrant Legal Services Center: Traveling While Undocumented (Friday, November 22, 2024)
Safety Planning for Immigrants (Friday, December 13, 2024)
 

The nonpartisan, nonprofit Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration brings college and university presidents and chancellors together on the immigration issues that impact higher education, our students, campuses, communities and nation. We work to support undocumented, international and refugee students, and advance forward-looking immigration policies and practices at the federal level, in our states, and across our college campuses. The Alliance is composed of 550+ college and university presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, enrolling over five million students in 42 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Idaho-University of Phoenix deal has fallen below the radar

For more than four months, neither the University of Idaho nor the University of Phoenix have reported on the status of the proposed deal between the two parties. The last local media report, from the Idaho Ed News came in July, when the University of Phoenix said they were still committed to partnering with Idaho.

The University of Idaho's University of Phoenix Affiliation FAQ page has not been updated and some of the information is obviously outdated. For example, the webpage said that the UI-UoPX sale was expected to be consummated in early 2024. That did not happen.    

 

Screen shot of the University of Phoenix Affiliation FAQ on November 9, 2024. 

Legislative and judicial barriers have delayed the acquisition and the deal remains in limbo. 

In June, the U of I Board of Regents extended the Asset Purchase Agreement through June 10, 2025. The extension allows the University of Idaho to continue negotiating with the University of Phoenix and to incorporate feedback from stakeholders. It would appear that any sale would require approval from the Idaho Legislature, which meets again in January 2025. In the interim, many important questions remain unanswered.

Despite its commitment, Apollo Global Management, the University of Phoenix's parent company, could sell the school to another buyer. But there has been no public mention (or even hints) of an alternative suitor. Since 2021, Apollo has tried selling the school to a number of buyers, most notably Tuskegee University, UMass Global, and the University of Arkansas System. The only deal to be made public before Idaho was in Arkansas, where concerns about the sale led to the deal falling through.

Information on how the school could be purchased continues to be limited. After a previous bond deal in Arizona fell through, the National Finance Authority (NFA) agreed to participate in the UI-UoPX financing. But there is no public information about how the bonds would be structured. Moody's previously said the $685 million purchase could result in a "multi-notch downgrade" in the University of Idaho's bond rating. 

According to the US Department of Education, more than 900,000 University of Phoenix debtors owe about $21.6B in federal student loan debt. And there have been more than 73,000 Borrower Defense to Repayment (fraud) claims made against the school.

The University of Idaho has previously said that any federal obligations for Borrower Defense to Repayment claims would be handled in court, even though more than 19,000 cases have already been settled in federal court, in favor of the student loan debtors. No matter how this could be handled legally, lawsuits related to the University of Phoenix could tarnish the image of the University of Idaho.