Here's something you might be interested in.
The San Diego plaintiffs' securities law firm of Robbins Umeda said today (March 17) that it is looking into possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other possible violations of laws at Bridgepoint Education. The stock dropped 3.32% to $18.08, but there was other bad news for the for-profit education industry. In a news release, Robbins referred to a March 10 hearing at which Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa noted that in 2008-2009, 84% of students in two-year programs and 63% in bachelor's programs had dropped out by September of 2010. But Harkin had given those figures in December, as reported in my Feb. 2 Reader column. However, what I found interesting about the March 10 Harkin report is that before Bridgepoint bought a tiny college now named Ashford University, its cost per student was $5,034 in 2004. By 2009, the cost per student was down to $700. Admittedly, there are extenuating circumstances. The college Bridgepoint bought and renamed Ashford was an on-campus school. Now 99% of students are online; costs should come down. Teachers who took Ashford classes complained that their classes didn't meet state qualifications for licensure, according to documents released at the study.
As I have reported earlier, Ashford stock is a classic tug of war between the longs and the shorts. Motley Fool is a big promoter of Bridgepoint, citing its rapid growth, high profitability and chaste balance sheet. A Fool columnist slammed Harkin for giving allegedly misleading statistics at the hearing.
Nobody seems to be talking about one thing: the heavy amount of insider selling at Bridgepoint.
The San Diego plaintiffs' securities law firm of Robbins Umeda said today (March 17) that it is looking into possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other possible violations of laws at Bridgepoint Education. The stock dropped 3.32% to $18.08, but there was other bad news for the for-profit education industry. In a news release, Robbins referred to a March 10 hearing at which Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa noted that in 2008-2009, 84% of students in two-year programs and 63% in bachelor's programs had dropped out by September of 2010. But Harkin had given those figures in December, as reported in my Feb. 2 Reader column. However, what I found interesting about the March 10 Harkin report is that before Bridgepoint bought a tiny college now named Ashford University, its cost per student was $5,034 in 2004. By 2009, the cost per student was down to $700. Admittedly, there are extenuating circumstances. The college Bridgepoint bought and renamed Ashford was an on-campus school. Now 99% of students are online; costs should come down. Teachers who took Ashford classes complained that their classes didn't meet state qualifications for licensure, according to documents released at the study.
As I have reported earlier, Ashford stock is a classic tug of war between the longs and the shorts. Motley Fool is a big promoter of Bridgepoint, citing its rapid growth, high profitability and chaste balance sheet. A Fool columnist slammed Harkin for giving allegedly misleading statistics at the hearing.
Nobody seems to be talking about one thing: the heavy amount of insider selling at Bridgepoint.