While largely ignored by the media, the Clintons have their own university scandal. Donald Trump has been rightfully criticized and sued over his defunct Trump University. There is ample support for claiming that the Trump University was fraudulent in its advertisements and operations. However, the national media has been accused of again sidestepping a scandal involving the Clintons that involves the same type of fraud allegations. The scandal involves a dubious Laureate Education for-profit online college (Walden) and entails many of the common elements with other Clinton scandals: huge sums given to the Clintons and questions of conflicts with Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. There are distinctions to draw between the two stories, but the virtual radio silence on the Clinton/Laureate story is surprising. [I have updated the original column with some additional thoughts, links, and clarifications for readers].
I have long been a critic of many online courses, though I am increasingly in the minority even on my faculty. However, the rise of online courses has allowed for an increase in dubious pitches and practices that prey upon people who cannot afford or attend a traditional academic institution. I should also reveal a general opposition to for-profit universities, a view shared by many teachers and experts. While there are some good for-profit programs from student camps to specialized training courses, Laureate is a massive, mega-corporation that is often criticized for its impact on education. As companies maximize profits, students often become a mere cost of doing business. The rate of default has been higher at such for-profit universities and less than half of students at for-profit schools actually finish such programs accordingly to Brookings. Laureate is often cited as the leader in reducing education to a commodity in a mass for-profit enterprise. The company has made huge profits and is worth over $4 billion.
Laureate Education was sued over its Walden University Online offering, which some alleged worked like a scam designed to bilk students of tens of thousands of dollars for degrees. Students alleged that they were repeatedly delayed and given added costs as they tried to secure degrees, leaving them deeply in debt. Laureate itself has been criticized for “turbocharging” admissions while allowing standards to fall and shortchanging education.
The respected Inside Higher Education reported that Laureate Education paid Bill Clinton an obscene $16.5 million between 2010 and 2014 to serve as an honorary chancellor for Laureate International Universities. Various news outlets said that neither Clinton nor Laureate were forthcoming on how much he was paid for the controversial association.
Bill Clinton worked as the “honorary chancellor” which sounds a bit like the group’s pitchman. He gave speeches in various countries and was heavily touted by the for-profit company to attract students. The size of this payment (which has been widely reported) raises obvious concerns as to what the company was seeking to achieve and whether Laureate received any benefit from the association with the State Department given its massive international operations.
Various sites have reported that the State Department funneled $55 million in grants during Hillary Clinton’s tenure to groups associated with Laureate’s founder. That would seem a pretty major story but virtually no mainstream media outlet has reported it while running hundreds of stories on the Trump University scandal. The stories on the grants do not name Laureate directly. Accordingly, the company might have not received direct grants (my first column did not make that clear and, in fairness to Laureate, there is no evidence of a quid pro quo arrangement or even direct grants). However, there are references to the International Youth Federation (connected to Laureate chairman Douglas Becker) as receiving USAID funding. Becker, who reportedly did not graduate college, is a controversial figure and the Washington Post wrote that “Becker’s peers in the education industry paint him as a tireless promoter, skilled at pitching Laureate to investors and persuading universities to sell to him.” Becker is reportedly a major donor to the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Laureate was able to “skirt” regulations on reporting “gainful employment” due to its large number of schools and students outside of the country who do not receive federal aid. The Journal noted “[o]nly 31% of students who enroll at another Laureate school, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, graduate. After 10 years, a mere 58% earn more than Americans with a high school diploma.”
Clinton resigned from his post just before his wife declared her candidacy but praised the company for producing high quality education. Yet, MarketWatch reported “five out of its six U.S. campuses are on a list of 544 schools the Department of Education is monitoring over concerns about shaky finances or regulatory compliance.”
Indeed, Laureate has come up in the Clinton email scandal. In her first year as Secretary of State, Clinton is quoted as directly asking that Laureate be included in a high-profile policy dinner — just months before the lucrative contract was given to Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton later references “Laureate Universities, started by Doug Becker who Bill likes a lot.”
Of course, there is a good reason why Clinton would ask for a more inclusive listing since “It’s a for-profit model that should be represented.” Even though most teachers (including the unions supporting Clinton) tend to be opposed to such for-profit companies, there is no denying that this model is on the rise. Later, Clinton called for a crackdown on for-profit companies but was criticized for the former association with Laureate.
There was even a class action — like the Trump University scandal. Travis et al v. Walden University LLC, was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland but dismissed in 2015. It is not clear why it was dismissed. However, the size of the contract to Clinton, the grants from State and the complaints over alleged fraud should warrant a modicum of attention to the controversy. The controversy has many of the familiar complaints over fraudulent online programs that take advantage of hard working people.
As an academic, I find both Trump University and Laureate to be deeply troubling stories. Yet, only one has been pursued by the media to any significant degree. I am not suggesting that Laureate as a whole is fraudulent. It clearly is a large for-profit educational company that has far more to show for its work than Trump University. Indeed, this is a huge global company with tremendous financial assets and profits. Moreover, there are distinctions that can be drawn with a university like Trump that is based entirely on the presumptive nominee and his promises in advertising. However, the money given to the Clintons, the involvement of the State Department, and the claims of fraud make this an obviously significant story in my view. The ridiculous amount of money given to Clinton alone raises legitimate questions. This is a company that was expanding exponentially in foreign countries. The association with Clinton was obviously greatly desired by the company. The question is whether the association with the Clintons resulted in any favorable treatment for the company or its affiliates.
Update: Walden University President Jonathan Kaplan was kind enough to respond to my query for a comment to this story. He maintains that Walden has been misrepresented in terms of its program and success with students. He noted:
Walden University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and was founded in 1970. We are committed to delivering quality degree programs and to focusing on student outcomes. More than 80% of our students are enrolled in masters or doctoral programs. Walden has programmatic and professional accreditations in key areas serving the public good such as social work, teacher education, mental health counseling, nursing, and more.
Walden University takes its financial aid responsibilities very seriously and has worked hard over many years to be good stewards of federal financial aid. This is demonstrated by our three-year cohort default rate of 6.8%, which is well below the national average of 11.8%, including all nonprofit and for-profit institutions.
Additionally, we have achieved a rigorous form of certification for social responsibility through Laureate Education and Walden University becoming Certified B Corporations® in 2015.
Walden University is a part of the Laureate International University Network. We are proud of our association with President Clinton and his role as honorary chancellor at Laureate from 2010 to 2015. It is unfortunate that this association has now drawn us into a political debate.
I should further note that Laureate has claimed a higher than average success yet with its students and currently has almost one million students in its various schools around the world.
Hillary Clinton: Political Prostitute for the Zionist Rulers
http://davidduke.com/hillarys-sleezy-seven-top-donors-hillarys-superpacs-jewish
http://BuenaVistaMall.com/HClintonZionist.jpg
Vice News reporter, Jason Leopold, is suing the Dept. of Justice seeking correspondence between the FBI and Clinton referencing the Clinton email server.
FBI Admits Finding Additional Info On Clinton Server During Email Investigation
http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/fbi-admits-finding-additional-info-on-clinton-server-during-e-mail-investigation/
I am not suggesting that Laureate as a whole is fraudulent.
Of course you are! That is truly funny! Then your boy Darren says that not only is it a fraud, but it equals the corruption of the Grant administration! All this without ONCE citing a law or a probable crime. You then observe that there was a law suit, but it was dismissed. SO filing a law suit is enough to make Clinton guilty without a hearing, trial, or any other tangible statement of FACT! This is just the standard calling something a scandal with NO evidence or substance. The so called Travelgate is the best illustration of the faux scandal. There was nothing illegal, immoral, or wrong in firing the hired help in the White House. So absent any FACT, this is pure BS.
Trump U was a fraud from the very beginning and went out of business after breaking NUMEROUS laws in FL and Texas. Maybe some of you can cite some law that was broken by Clinton, instead of breathlessly saying another SCANDAL! The simple reason there is coverage of Trump is that there is an active lawsuit which is going to TRIAL and has NOT BEEN DISMISSED.You would have a point IF a similar lawsuit was proceeding against Walden and nothing was said about it in the media. Give me a break and get some FACTS and law in your case. This is supposed to be a legal blog I thought.
ABC News President Ben Sherwood, is the brother of Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a top national-security adviser to President Obama.
CBS, news division president David Rhodes, is the brother of Benjamin Rhodes, an Obama key foreign-policy specialist. “The “goal” going forward, one Rhodes email said, is “to underscore that these protests are rooted in [an] Internet video, and not a broader failure or policy.”
Former White House press secretary Jay Carney’s wife, Claire Shipman, is a veteran reporter for ABC.
NPR’s White House correspondent, Ari Shapiro, is married to lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, who joined the White House counsel’s office.
CNN’s deputy Washington bureau chief, Virginia Moseley, is married to Tom Nides who until earlier this year was deputy secretary of state for Hillary Rodham Clinton and who changed Benghazi talking points to “A video made them do it”
Marissa Meyer, (CEO of Yahoo), Big Cash Money bundler for Obama’s 2012 campaign.
Do you think the list ends here?
NBC’s Jeffrey Immelt ..still on Obamas board of advisers today
Stinks.
Regarding Pagliano’s immunity agreement. Judge Sullivan asked to see the agreement. Pagliano’s attorneys asked that the agreement be sealed and only viewed in camera. Judge Sullivan[Clinton appointee] has been very even handed, but is disgusted w/ the State Dept. He told the plaintiff’s attorneys[Judicial Watch] to reply to their request to keep the agreement sealed. So, 2 things will happen. Judge Sullivan will rule on whether Pagliano has waived his 5th Amendment rights w/ the immunity agreement, and he will also rule on the request to keep the agreement sealed. An attorney needs to make a compelling argument to keep public court records sealed.
It is axiomatic that Leftist politics demands that the truth about Laureate Education or anything else potentially negative to Hillary Clinton be suppressed. That is self-evident. Clinton has been anointed by the Leftist Establishment as the next president, and the Establishment will do everything in its power — which is considerable — to defeat Trump.
In order to implement Leftist policies. a government must have the power to make people bend to the will of government. Thus, authoritarian governments are the preferred means of the Leftists because they take free choice out of the equation to the extent feasible. Leftist policies, such as transferring wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy, cannot be effectively accomplished unless there is sufficient authoritarian power behind government to keep the population in line.
With authoritarian power, comes power over the media to support the agenda, and it is through the media that Leftists are most easily able to suppress the truth, distort the truth at will, create lies and diversions, and other tactics at the disposal of Leftist governments.
There is a wonderful short, but brilliant, scene from the classic movie, Citizen Kane, in which the editor of a newspaper Kane had recently taken over tells Kane that the stories that he wants published aren’t real news and aren’t newsworthy. Kane retorts that “if the headline is big enough, the news is big enough.” Kane’s assistant, Bernstein, adds, “Right, you are, Mr. Kane.” The converse is also true. If the Presstitutes don’t cover a story, that story essentially ceases to exist.
Thus, the Leftists suppress the truth about the economy in the news, and instead focus on Trump U, which has no bearing on which candidate has the better ability to advance the American economy and level the playing field.
And when Clinton lied about the murders of Americans by Muslims in Libya by saying that they were not planned terrorist attacks, but rather, were an excusable response to a purported film that Muslims deemed offensive, all Leftists joined behind Clinton by ignoring and suppressing these facts. Did the Leftist media demand an investigation, or pursue one themselves to demand the truth? Of course not. Leftists hate the truth.
Had someone not friendly to the Leftist causes been similarly caught in such lies, they would have been hammered relentlessly by the Leftists.
Leftists are also fond of pretending that they favor free speech. Well, to some extent they do, but ONLY if that speech involves the propagation of Leftist policies and practices. If the speech involves viewpoints that are antithetical to Leftist causes, why then, the Leftists demand that that kind of free speech be SHUT DOWN! Hypocritical? Of course. That goes without saying.
A major difference between both of these candidates’ scandals is that Hillary Clinton’s likely involves significant evidence of public corruption–the involvement in the State Department headed by Mrs. Clinton.
Another aspect of the Clinton tenure as secretary of state is how little oversight President Obama held to his cabinet members. In a way it is reminiscent of the Grant Administration’s failings. The enabling afforded by the president’s lack of control contributed in my view to a permissive environment where a few of his cabinet either engaged in outright corruption, or at least committed malfeasances leading to scandals such as the IRS Investigation of political groups. Unlike Grant, it seems President Obama escapes as much criticism because, again, he too was enabled–by his political party and supporters.
Intel Vets Urge Fast Report on Clinton’s Emails
“A group of U.S. intelligence veterans is calling on President Obama to expedite the FBI review of former Secretary of State Clinton’s alleged email security violations so the public can assess this issue in a timely fashion.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/05/23/intel-vets-urge-fast-report-on-clintons-emails/
Keep feeding them Johnny boy, ya got them drooling………..
And no libber have arrived to discuss this wonderful story… They’re hiding, already bashing Trump with everything they’ve got due to their ignorance.
It’s so funny, isn’t it? When one party accuses another of doing something, being dug up, everyone screams their heads off. But when the party that accuses the other has been found of doing something, the party’s members and die hard loyalists couldn’t scream their heads off. They sink their heads into the sand, thinking they’re high and mighty!
Quick, what’s the syndrome word for people like that? Confirmation bias? Believer’s Syndrome? Perhaps Believer Syndrome.