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Education Aid, Inc. Announces New Jersey Student is First Winner of $5,000 Support a Student Scholarship Program

Rutgers University student benefits from innovative scholarship program.

Tenafly, NJ – (January 31, 2012) -  Education Aid, Inc. announced the winner for their first-ever self funded Support a Student Scholarship Program for a New Jersey student attending a New Jersey State school.  The recipient, Sasha Bostick, is a bachelor’s degree candidate studying Sociology at Rutgers University and a single mother of one.

The scholarship program was developed to help economically disadvantaged students who are at risk of dropping out of school due to a lack of financial support.  With the Support a Student Scholarship Program, Education Aid has developed an innovative approach to making education accessible to many students who would otherwise not be able to afford to go to school.  Students who need to work and go to school at the same time, especially single parents, face many responsibilities that sometimes prove to be too much of a financial burden and their education suffers as a result.

“In the Fall of 2011 I was thinking about dropping out of college after already taking 114 credits toward my major.  I am raising a son while attaining my bachelor’s degree.  I found myself having poor attendance because I could not afford daycare for my son.  Also, not having enough financial aid to pay for books was a major issue and caused me to fall behind in my courses.  I was selected to participate in this scholarship program through Education Aid and now I am receiving the daycare that I need for my son, enabling me to attend my night classes.  Education Aid also bought my required textbooks and replaced my broken computer, which I could not afford to fix.  I would not be enrolled in school this semester without this help, and will use this opportunity to attain my degree in Sociology.” ~ Sasha Bostick

She added that after graduating from Rutgers, “I hope to work in the field of Child Advocacy, which will allow me to give back to others the way that Education Aid has given to me.”

Bostick will be awarded $5,000 to pay for on-campus day care, textbooks, and school supplies for the 2012 Spring and Summer semesters.

Education Aid, Inc. is thrilled to be able to prevent a student from leaving school and enabling her to complete her degree.  “This type of aid is extremely limited and desperately needed by so many students,” said Karyn Balfour, the Founder and CEO of Education Aid.  “There are many costs, other than tuition, associated with earning your degree that typical financial aid packages do not cover,” said Balfour.  Without any financial support to help pay for these expenses, students are forced to work and go to school at the same time.  “When students are unable to pay for basic living expenses, they are put in a position where they need to choose between school and work.  Unfortunately, too many times they end up dropping out,” Balfour said.

About Education Aid, Inc.

It is the mission of Education Aid to change the lives of students around the country by providing them with the financial support they need to complete their education.  This is done through the Support a Student Scholarship Program. Participants of this Program will have payments made on their behalf for non-tuition related expenses that are not being covered by their current financial aid amounts.  Many economically disadvantaged students do not receive enough financial support to pay for such expenses and ultimately end up dropping out of school.  This Program was created to identify these students and provide them with the financial support necessary to enable them to complete their degrees.  You can read more about Education Aid at:   www.educationaid.org.

Last week we spent some time on the phone with a well-known industry short fund.  We discussed the industry as a whole, as well as specific issues facing the industry which were behind their premise that shorting the industry was a good play for the next few years. Topics such as gainful employment, new compensation rules, default rates and the power of non-profit brands extending into the online education were the main points.  Gainful employment in conjunction with 90/10 is in our opinion a biased illogical political move to hinder the growth of one industry segment for profit schools to the benefit of another nonprofit schools.  If the rule is sound & logical, why wouldn’t it

be industry wide, the answer is clear, it’s not a well thought out rule.  If the traditional colleges had to live within gainful employment you would see far fewer lawyers, doctors, economists, political scientists (maybe that’s a good thing) philosophers, literary scholars, teachers, artists, theorists etc.  Who’s going to fill the entry level positions?  Aren’t they stepping stones?  We guess they will be filled by graduates of traditional colleges with English, Liberal Arts & Art history degrees whose $200,000+ education clearly provided them with such a solid and relevant foundation.  Default rates, well they need to be managed, schools need to ensure that the engagement & value their student receive from the education provided them is compelling.  We need to utilize assessment to make sure students enter program they have real interest and a likelihood of success in.  And we need to screen for and provide the remedial assistance necessary for students to be able to be successful in their education.  Will the industry be able to manage them successfully, YES.  As for the value of brands, this is a topic which has been discussed for many years.

We all know a brand is valuable.  We all know having a brand is a huge advantage and can significantly reduce the marketing costs of student recruitment.  But the big caveat is “can”.  Most traditional colleges significantly lack the admissions infrastructure and wiliness to adapt as necessary to be competitive to succeed in the fast paced world of online  education.  The partnerships between traditional colleges and for profit enterprises have proven that they can work and achieve fast growth, but those are still few in number.  The real questions is when will we see an influx of these partnerships, and how much of an effect will they have on the for-profit EDU industry>

A good sign has risen over the last year as many of the nations top for profit colleges make strides in improving their intake mechanisms.  Instead of the previous standard open door policy colleges are now working to ensure a better fit for both the colleges and students best interest.  Assessments are starting to surface as a way for both the students and colleges to learn more about what is best for them.

By taking simple assessments many colleges are learning which programs the students are most motivated to succeed in and thus more likely to graduate, which is the shared goal of the student and institution.  Others are using assessments as a means to uncover weakness areas which need additional support from student services and professors.

Bottom line is that the smarter long term players have understood that now is the time to re-build for the future, while the market is expecting a slowdown anyway.  The result will be long term sustainable growth with better outcomes for all!

The Huffington post recently posted a strikingly negative article about Kaplan.  Link to article is below.  The industry is clearly headline material for tv, print and online articles all unfortunately negative, why cant the industry get some positive press?  Any of us who have actually been to a graduation at a forprofit school can attest to the lives that have been changed as well as the appreciation from the families and friends.   

At Kaplan University, ‘Guerilla Registration’ Leaves Students Deep In Debt

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/kaplan-university-guerilla-registration_n_799741.html?page=1

LeadsCon Las Vegas 2010 takes place February 23rd and February 24, 2010. Join for two full days of unforgettable learning and unparalleled networking.

Register: http://www.leadscon.com/leadscon-las-vegas-2010/register.html

PARAMUS, N.J., and TORONTO, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ — CUnet, a subsidiary of Nelnet Inc. (NYSE: NNI), announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sparkroom, a leading provider of enrollment marketing automation and lead performance management solutions. The parties anticipate closing the transaction on February 1, 2010.

Sparkroom provides business intelligence and lead delivery software that helps organizations immediately improve marketing efficiency and increase profitability by managing, measuring, and optimizing lead performance across all direct response marketing channels. Sparkroom's Lead Performance Management product suite, which includes LeadDeliver, LeadIQ, and Lead Market Analytics, enables direct marketers in higher education to:

   -- Understand the performance of every lead, regardless of the channel 

   -- Proactively manage lead vendors 

   -- Align marketing with sales or enrollment targets 

   -- Immediately improve the performance of marketing spend

“We are excited by the opportunities created by bringing CUnet and Sparkroom together,” said Matt McLaughlin, President of CUnet. “Sparkroom's technology products will complement CUnet's interactive media and marketing services to provide a powerful solution for colleges to drive the most value from their marketing spend. It's a great fit that will benefit marketers in the higher education sector.”

CUnet provides clients with a wide range of performance marketing services including vendor lead management, call center management, search marketing, display advertising, social media management, mobile marketing, and school operations consulting. Sparkroom's Lead Performance Management product suite provides comprehensive technology tools to education marketers, allowing them to make faster, data-driven decisions that drive marketing efficiency and business profitability. The companies will offer an industry-leading mix of marketing services and technology solutions for educational institutions from a single provider.

“Sparkroom's mission is to enable our customers to optimize their investments in interactive direct response marketing,” said Jamie McDonald, CEO of Sparkroom. “By teaming up with CUnet, we will accelerate our ability to deliver on that mission and bring new ground-breaking products to the market, which will continue to improve marketing efficiency for higher education marketers.”

Sparkroom co-founders McDonald and Jamie Shulman, Vice President of Operations, will continue to lead Sparkroom and its associates from Toronto.

While the purchase price is not material to Nelnet, the acquisition adds strategic value to the company by broadening its lead generation products and services business and further strengthens its lead generation technology.

About CUnet

CUnet is the premier provider of online performance media and interactive marketing services driving qualified student inquiries and enrollments for the higher education industry. Founded in 2003, the company has grown rapidly to oversee the promotional campaigns of over 1 000 colleges, universities, and career schools throughout the United States and Canada. CUnet is dedicated to creating cost-effective marketing programs using a mix of online media strategies and formats to find prospective students, generate qualified responses, and maximize enrollments and starts. CUnet is a subsidiary of Nelnet, a leader in education planning and financing for more than 30 years. CUnet is based in Paramus, NJ. For more information, visit www.cunet.com.

About Sparkroom

Sparkroom delivers innovative solutions to direct marketers, including its comprehensive Lead Performance Management software and services. Sparkroom Lead Deliver, Lead IQ, and Lead Market Analytics deliver a hosted business intelligence platform to give direct response marketers the tools and expertise needed to measure, manage, and optimize their lead acquisition spending across every direct response channel. Sparkroom's software, which it hosts and delivers to its customers on demand, enables customers to capture, store, and analyze information generated by their lead buying activities and to gain critical business insights into the performance and efficiency of marketing and sales initiatives and other business processes. Founded in 2007, Sparkroom is privately held. For more information, visit www.sparkroom.com.

Information contained in this press release, other than historical information, may be considered forward-looking in nature and is subject to various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, or expected. Among the key factors that may have a direct bearing on Nelnet's operating results, performance, or financial condition expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements are the uncertain nature of the expected benefits from the acquisition and the ability to successfully integrate operations, changes in terms of student loans and the educational credit marketplace changes in the demand for educational financing or in financing preferences of educational institutions, students and their families, or changes in the general interest rate environment and in the securitization markets for education loans.

(code #: nnig)

SOURCE Nelnet Inc.

/CONTACT: Media, Ben Kiser, +1-402-458-3024; Investors, Phil Morgan, +1-402-458-3038; both of Nelnet Inc.

/Web site: http://www.nelnet.com

 PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 14, 2009– Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) (the “Company”) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the United States of America, acting through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, and with two private plaintiffs to resolve the False Claims Act lawsuit filed in 2003 against subsidiary University of Phoenix, United States of America ex rel. Mary Hendow and Julie Albertson v. University of Phoenix. Although a party to the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice at no time intervened in the lawsuit, which was pursued by the two private plaintiffs as a qui tam action on behalf of the government. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will pay $67.5 million to the United States. A separate agreement provides for the payment by the Company of $11 million in attorneys fees to the plaintiffs, as required by the False Claims Act. “This agreement not only brings closure to a long-running dispute and enables the Company to avoid the uncertainty and further expense associated with protracted litigation, it opens the door for a more constructive partnership with our lead regulator, the U.S. Department of Education,” said Charles B. Edelstein, co-chief executive officer of Apollo Group. “Apollo Group is committed to rigorous regulatory and compliance systems to serve and protect the academic innovations for which we are known,” added Gregory Cappelli, co-chief executive officer of Apollo Group and chairman of Apollo Global, Inc. “Resolution enables us to focus on our core mission of providing access to quality higher education opportunities for students who have been historically underserved by the conventional system of higher education – and at a time when such access is more critical than ever.” The agreement makes clear that the Company does not acknowledge, admit or concede any liability, wrongdoing, noncompliance or violation as a result of the settlement. Moreover, the Company is confident it will not face any further civil or administrative exposure relating to its compliance with the Higher Education Act provision relating to incentive compensation for the period of March 1997 through the present as a result of the various releases and related agreements it has obtained from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice and the plaintiffs. “While we believe that the compensation practices and programs of University of Phoenix have always complied fully with applicable federal laws and regulations, the regulations at issue in this case were unclear and inconsistent and, even after they were clarified by Safe Harbor provisions, involved complex judgments and interpretations,” said P. Robert Moya, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Apollo Group. “Settlement on these terms eliminates the risks inherent in taking any case to trial and, ultimately, is in the best interests of our students, employees and shareholders.” “On behalf of the plaintiffs, we are pleased that the parties have been able to reach an agreement on terms that protect the interests of the government and the taxpayers,” said Robert J. Nelson, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “The case raised several challenging issues, many of them novel, which made settlement of the case appropriate.”

About the Litigation Under the False Claims Act, plaintiffs – or relators – sue as “partial assignees” of the government’s claims for alleged injuries to the government. The False Claims Act lawsuit against University of Phoenix was filed by two private plaintiffs in March 2003 in United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division. The suit alleged University of Phoenix violated a federal statute and regulation stating that while recruiters may be compensated based in part on the number of students they enroll, it cannot be the sole factor for determining their compensation. After review of the lawsuit’s allegations and consultation with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice declined to join in the litigation. In fact, in a brief submitted to the Ninth Circuit in connection with the case, the Justice Department expressed “the government’s strong support for the important work of proprietary institutions of higher education, like University of Phoenix, that are providing much-needed educational opportunities to people looking to advance their careers and to earn a better living for themselves and their families.” In September 2003, the plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint, followed by a Second Amended Complaint in March 2004. The Court twice dismissed this case, ultimately with prejudice, before it was reinstated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2006. About Apollo Group, Inc.

Apollo Group, Inc. is one of the world’s largest private education providers and has been in the education business for more than 35 years. The Company offers innovative and distinctive educational programs and services both online and on-campus at the high school, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels through its subsidiaries: University of Phoenix; Institute for Professional Development; College for Financial Planning; Western International University; Meritus University; Insight Schools and Apollo Global. The Company’s programs and services are provided in 40 states and the District of Columbia; Puerto Rico; Canada; Latin America; and Europe, as well as online throughout the world (data as of August 31, 2009).

For more information about Apollo Group and its subsidiaries, call 800-990-APOL or visit the Company’s website at www.apollogrp.edu . Forward-Looking Statement Statements in this press release that are not statement of historical fact are forward-looking statements, and are subject to the Safe Harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current information and expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in such statements due to various factors. For a discussion of the various factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, please refer to the risk factors and other disclosures contained in Apollo Group’s previously filed Forms 10-K, Forms 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Apollo Group, Inc.

Apollo Group, Inc. Investor Relations Contacts: Allyson Pooley, 312-660-2025 allyson.pooley@apollogrp.edu  Jeremy Davis, 312-660-2071 jeremy.davis@apollogrp.edu  Media Contact: Sara Jones, 818-326-1871 sara.jones@apollogrp.edu

UPenns has asked ForProfitEDU.com  to post the following:

In a knowledge economy, nothing is more important than people being able to maximize their potential.  And yet, collectively we have not figured out how to reach every person – regardless of where they are intellectually, emotionally, financially, and geographically – to help them realize their potential.  Effective learning is important for individual learners, their families, their employers, their communities and their countries.  There is an urgent need to find ways to reach and educate every person.

Education – from toddlers through baby boomers – is also big business in the United States. Depending on how one counts it, education mirrors healthcare in terms of spending or falls just below it. The United States is the largest exporter of education in the world, and education is our country’s fifth largest export.  By some accounts we have the most robust system of higher education in this country, a rich diversity of K-12 education, innovative pre-K and educational entertainment industries, and over 50% of adult Americans learning on the job on any given day.

Despite the size and import of learning, we have immense challenges; many hold out the hope of entrepreneurship to help solve some of these challenges. That said, until now there hasn’t been a single education business plan competition in the world and while entrepreneurship in bio tech, software, engineering and medicine is quite robust with clusters of start ups surrounding some of the world’s great universities, nothing similar exists in education.

To address this issue, the Milken Family Foundation and Penn have come together to be a joint catalyst for innovation in education, to help “create a space” for education entrepreneurs.  To begin this process, we have put together a business plan competition and we hope –if you have an idea to change the world, that you will enter the competition.

Why Penn? Since its founding by Ben Franklin, Penn has prided itself on its ability to combine theory and practice. We have the country’s first school of medicine and school of business.  At PennGSE, this spirit has manifested itself in a rich array of entrepreneurial activities all designed to foster change in education. Our faculty, staff, and students are all committed to the teleology of change and this competition is just one manifestation of a broad and aggressive agenda – framed by real world needs and sound theory and research.

Why Milken? The Milken family – who are Penn graduates – embody the Franklin spirit and through Knowledge Universe have demonstrated successful educational entrepreneurship – from pre-K services through college education for working adults. And in their philanthropic activities, the Milken family have made education – particularly innovation in education – a cornerstone of their work.

We hope that you will enter the competition, and look forward to hearing your ideas.

Visit: http://www.gse.upenn.edu/entrepreneurcomp/

Good luck!

Best,

Gregory Milken

Doug Lynch

CHICAGO, Ill., August 10, 2009 — SoCAFE, The Society of Certified Adjunct Faculty Educators, announced today that the organization’s certification program for part-time college and university faculty would now be available for graduate credit by the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.

Completion of the certification course, entitled “Core Competencies of College Teaching” (CTED 672), will earn three graduate hours of credit and award the Certified Adjunct Faculty Educator (C.A.F.E.) designation.

“We’re gratified by the confidence St. Thomas University has shown in the quality of our certification program by offering it for graduate credit. This may be an excellent time for K-12 teachers to consider registering for this course, given the widespread lay-offs of public school teachers around the country,” said Dr. Rochelle Santopoalo, President of SoCAFE.

SoCAFE is the first organization in the United States to provide a portable, national credential for adjunct faculty in American colleges and universities.

Dr. Santopoalo also stated that “while the number of opportunities for K-12 teachers is currently in decline, according to the 2008-2009 edition of U.S. Department of Labor Handbook, the number of college and university teaching jobs is expected to grow by 23 percent between 2006 and 2016 – much faster than the average for all occupations.”

Founded in 1885, the University of St. Thomas is the largest private university in Minnesota. St. Thomas offers bachelor’s degrees in over 85 major fields of study and more than 45 graduate degree programs including master’s, education specialist, juris doctor and doctorates. (University of St. Thomas website: www.stthomas.edu/education/ce).

For more information on the organization visit: http://www.socafe.org.

All trademarks and service marks are the property of The Society of Certified Adjunct Faculty Educators.

August search volume was strong, but it did not exceed expectations.  August, which for the last 4 years was the strongest volume month YTD did not deliver on that expectation.  While the volume was still strong  as for year over year growth, it did not top the previous months of 2009.  August usually tops Jan thru July as it has for the last 4 years.