A list of more than 500 colleges that have been flagged by the U.S. Department of Education for various financial issues has been released. Because they have been put on this financial watch list, any federal aid money due these schools is being closely monitored. This move could seriously impact federal loans and other financial aid at these schools.
Unfortunately for students, the names of 21 of the most troubled schools have been redacted from the list. These schools are the subjects of active investations by the feds.
Many, but not all, of the listed schools are for-profits and/or career schools. There are schools with various religious affiliations and even some foreign schools like the University of Melbourne.
Just from a quick glance, I’m pretty surprised at the presence of several Canadian public schools. Even as a Canadian, I haven’t really heard about them having any financial issues. I’m especially surprised that the University of Toronto is one of 69 universities under HCM2.
Hmmm, I see what you mean, @Madison85. Maybe some clever CC sleuth will find a better version of the list. (I’d reall like to see a version without the blanked-out names!)
@OrchidBloom, being on the list doesn’t necessarily indicate financial disaster is imminent. Reporting delays, accreditation issues, etc. can also land a school on it. Having said that, I’m surprised at some of those, too.
Why are foreign colleges, especially top ones, on this list? The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Toronto, University of Sydney, and University of Melbourne are some of the top universities in the world.
OP, the link to this data highlights the pitfalls of data on the internet. If the University of Toronto is on a financial watch list, then the data to assemble this list is either total crap or the entire university system in Canada is about to fail. I suspect the former. The government of Canada would go bankrupt before the University of Toronto has financial problems.
In the case of some of those top international universities, it is likely an issue of their not getting that info to the United State Department of Education in proper format or timeframe rather than any sort of actual problem. The East Wichita School of Cosmetology is probably one you need to watch out for, though.
Hiram was a minor surprise to me as well. I was also mildly surprised to see a couple Jesuit colleges – Wheeling Jesuit and Rockhurst – on the list. I believe that another Jesuit university, John Carroll, was among the redacted schools. Not sure what this means, if anything.
@menefrega, this isn’t “internet data,” it’s an official list published by the US’s Department of Education. It is a list of institutions for whom federal aid payments are getting extra screening. Being on the list doesn’t mean the school is about to go belly-up. As the IHE article notes, there are several reasons why a school could end up on the list. Having said that, a school being on the list might create issues for individual students counting on quick disbursement of federal aid.
Is there a previous version of the list? Would love to see if schools that have gone bankrupt were flagged (ie. Sweet Briar College). Surprised to see Chestnut Hill College in Philly on there.
Perhaps, but my understanding is that JCU has very small issues which can be solved in “weeks” not months, according to its president. Indeed, I had a professor friend (not associated with JCU) who explained that the issues there were fairly minor.
University funding from government sources in Canada usually come from the provincial government. Fair enough, Queen’s Park (a.k.a. the Ontario government) is facing some issues at the moment, but I am surprised to see Charles U in Prague (the flagship university of the Czech Republic) on that list… unless the Czech government is going bankrupt?
