Current Issues - Tiffin University's Ivy Bridge College

"News of the investigation comes just weeks after Tiffin's accreditor ordered the university to halt new enrollments at Ivy Bridge, an associate-degree program designed to serve working adults that has been recognized as an innovative model by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations. More than 90 percent of the program's students received Pell Grants." - Goldie Blumenstyk

     I will be honest that I am only just catching-up on the news on Ivy Bridge College, but what a saga it seems to have been. You can find the article about the Justice Department's recently-opened investigation here, but if you want more background you should select the links within the article or even read the links below first:

• Initial article reporting on the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) order for Ivy Bridge College to stop enrollments
• Follow-up article HLC defending its decisions
• Article on HLC permitting Tiffin University to bring Ivy Bridge into its own online Associate's Degree program
• Almost most importantly - the Ivy Bridge College Facebook Page

     To summarize the "issue" at hand: The HLC of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools - a regional accreditor (basically decides what education is and should be) - told Tiffin University to stop enrolling students in Ivy Bridge College, its joint business venture with for-profit company Altius Education, Inc., the purpose of which is to offer online Associate's Degrees. Ivy Bridge's students appear to be primarily working adults from traditionally underserved populations. The HLC had originally ordered that all students must transfer either to another Associate's program or to Tiffin's Bachelor's program, but then alleviated some of the strictness in saying that they could continue in the online Associate's program originally offered by Tiffin before it created with Ivy Bridge. It is difficult to tell what, if any, of that has changed with this new investigation.

     The rest seems to be a battle of subjectivity and "he said, she said." There is disagreement as to the crux of why the relationship originally needed to end - the top reasons appear to be (1) The HLC having stricter rules governing such partnerships, (2) Tiffin University withdrawing its accreditation application for Ivy Bridge, or (3) The HLC's order, which it retroactively defended with claims of lacking academic integrity and oversight by Tiffin - but the primary reason depends very much on to whom you are speaking. Many words have been exchanged between and said about the HLC, Tiffin, and Altius Education, and most can be read on the articles and Facebook page. On one hand, we have a university that could have been a degree mill, simply taking Pell Grants to pay for pieces of paper. On the other, we have an innovative approach - regarded as such by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - to providing education to those who simply do not have any other option than this relatively inexpensive, online medium of academics.

     The issues of academic integrity and oversight bring us to the new investigation. Prompted under the Federal Claims Act, which covers the misuse of federal funds, the investigation seems to be primarily concerned with what recruitment measures were used by Tiffin for Ivy Bridge and what Tiffin's true role was in the administration and education occurring through Ivy Bridge. These factors play into whether or not the College followed federal-aid guidelines.

      I would like to bring some focus back to the students. The Chronicle's articles were at least decent in their profiling the students enrolled at Ivy Bridge, but more is deserved. These are mostly non-traditional students. They provide care and have dependents relying on them. Most are receiving Pell Grants. No matter what decision is arrived at, a disservice has been done unto them. If the DOJ decides that mismanagement occurred with their funding, I am confident in saying someone should be ashamed of their actions. If they decide nothing is wrong, then these students have been put through frustration for the second time in two months - not knowing if they will have to transfer (some of them for the second time, according to Facebook), not knowing if their degree is or will be worth something, or even attainable. One can only hope that their advisors are helping them each step of the way.

Article Citation: Blumenstyk, G. (2013). Justice Dept. opens investigation of online program at Tiffin U. The chronicle of higher education. Retrieved from: http://chronicle.com/article/Justice-Dept-Opens/141289/