Office of Higher Education

Class notes: education and the governor’s budget

Elisabeth Harrison — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:40:17 +0000

The new budget proposal from Governor Lincoln Chafee is a complex document, so here are a few highlights for schools and colleges.

There's a slight increase in this budget proposal for public colleges and universities. Oddly, officials disagree about the exact amount of the increase. The governor’s office first reported $8 million, but higher education officials say it’s closer to $6 million. The Office of Higher Education says it is grateful for any increase, after years of decreases under former Governor Don Carcieri.

Class notes: A quick look at the stories that made news this week in education

Elisabeth Harrison — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:09:06 +0000

Sawyer probe continues

State and federal law enforcement agencies are checking the books at the Sawyer School for criminal activity following its abrupt closure just after Christmas. State education officials have recovered student records from the school and are planning to hold an event at CCRI next week to provide transcripts and counseling for students wondering how to proceed with their degrees.

Sawyer School students will be reunited with their records

Flo Jonic — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:36:59 +0000

(PROVIDENCE, RI) Help is on the way for the more than 300 students displaced by the recent closure of the Sawyer vocational school in Providence.

The state Office of Higher Education will hold a day-long meeting next week for students displaced by the closure of the Sawyer School in Providence. More than 300 students in Rhode Island and another 1,200 in Connecticut were shocked to see the school close abruptly just after Christmas.

Why Sawyer School lost students, federal dollars before closure

Elisabeth Harrison — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:38:01 +0000

The Sawyer School was apparently bleeding federal aid prior to its abrupt closure on New Year's Day. The Federal Department of Education says the for-profit school had gone from nearly $7.5 million in federal tuition dollars for the 2011-2012 academic year down to $2 million this year.

What happened? Well, one answer is declining enrollment. Sawyer reported 796 students in Rhode Island in the fall of 2011, but only 302 students when it shut down earlier this month.

FBI joins Sawyer probe, plus the latest from the Office of Higher Ed

Elisabeth Harrison — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:13:27 +0000

The FBI has joined the investigation of the now-defunct Sawyer School, a for-profit technical college that closed its doors on the first of the year.

State police say they're seeking to determine whether there was any criminal wrongdoing, or whether this is simply a case of a business going under.

Either way, Sawyer's closure left roughly 300 Rhode Island students and 1,200 students in Connecticut with partially completed certificates to become medical office assistants and other office administrators.

RI probing closed technical school's records

Catherine Welch — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:59:18 +0000

(PROVIDENCE, RI) The Rhode Island Office of Higher Education says it’s working to secure the records of some 1,500 students left in the lurch when a career training school abruptly closed down.

Spokesman for the Office of Higher Education, Mike Trainor, says over the weekend the state will secure the academic and financial records of the 302 Rhode Island students and 1,200 Connecticut students. He says all of the school’s records, going back to 1964, are on paper so it will take a while to sort everything out.