Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Will UA play its ITT card?

Thursday's University of Akron Board of Trustees off-schedule  private meeting has led to further speculation by the school's many critics that it might show further  interest in buying into the online  for-profit  teaching company, ITT (for Technical institute).    There's been little question of President Scott Scarborough's obsessive interest in  privatizing whatever is within UA's grasp - and whatever isn't - to convert the school into a national power.

Trouble is, as he has set out to do  it, his woefully ill-managed thrust  has disrupted  the  university's basic academic mission to  send its graduates  into the world knowing a lot more than when they arrived.   The leadership's confidently expressed  game plan has shrunk faculty, depressed morale and created a national spectacle of a campus gone awry  The latest indictments,  of course, was both the 50-2 no confidence Faculty Senate resolution and a  painful peep from the once hospitable Beacon Journal that has called for his "transition" .

But the ITT enterprise would  draw more public attention to a  private national operation   that the U.S.  and Exchange Commission  has charged, along with two top-tier executives, with fraud in  dealings in two student loan programs.

Pop quiz:  Will the trustees ignore ITT's current legal problems just as they did in hiring Scarborough with his troubled academic career path?

Hold the applause for now, please.

1 comment:

Grumpy Abe said...
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