A report in October 2002 by the Center for Education Reform found that 194 or 6.7percentt of the 2,874 schools granted charters nationwide had been closed.
Earlier this year, I heard a similar suggestion when I interviewed the chief executive of a non-profit outfit that runs a "chain" of secondary schools granted their autonomy from local authorities under the academy scheme.
Another 77 schools were consolidated back into their original school districts and were not counted in the report as being closed and 84 of the schools granted charters had never opened.
The former NEC campuses, now called Corinthian Schools, granted diplomas through shorter programs (8 to 19 months) that typically cost $8,000; its students were disproportionately single mothers in their early 20s who had never held a full-time job.
In May 1996, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted approval for Southern to become an accredited Level III institution, allowing the school to confer master's degrees.
Its schools grant master's and doctoral degrees in subjects related to military strategy and operations.
Among schools granting degrees, the commercial institutions received 17percentt of what New York State spent on tuition assistance grants in 2002, even though they educated just 6percentt of the undergraduates.
Additionally, many business schools grant additional degrees and certifications beyond the traditional MBA, such as Harvard's AMP (Advanced Management Program).
