New College Accreditation

[HawkGuy]

Ok, so I had this fun idea of starting a new college similar to the Big 3, with no residency, accepting CLEPS and DANTES tests for the whole degree, FEMA straight from the source, etc.. but with less fees than EC and TESC. You know, all the goods but less of the bads haha.

While doing my research, I was looking at the DETC Accreditation Handbook and their requirements. One requirement is that the school seeking accreditation must have at least 2 years continuous operations.

My question is: why would anyone sign up at an unaccredited school?

Any and all feedback would be appreciated!!

[OnMyWay]

I also wonder such a thing but people do... do you need a certain number of students? You might be able to get your friends and family to sign up with free tuition.

[HawkGuy]

On the DETC site, it says they want info on the first 100 students. But then I found out that DETC won't let students transfer more than 30 credits towards a Bachelors. So it looks like my school is going to be RA. haha

That free tuition deal is a good idea.

[clep101]

Hawkguy,
Are you just messing or you actually want to do this? How would you go about starting it?

As soon as I read you post it reminded me of the movie "Accecpted".
South Harmon Institute of Technology.

[HawkGuy]

No, I actually want to do this. All my friends and family support me. I've been doing my research about accreditation and whatnot. I live in AZ, so we fall under the Higher Learning Commission. I hear they're pretty easy to get accreditation from. Just look at U of P haha. State licensure isn't hard to get either. I looked into it and all it takes is money.

I've also been looking into having a Pharmacy program. I know tons of people who can't get into pharmacy school because there just aren't enough seats. I'd make a killing there alone haha.

Right now I'm still in the planning stages. Trying to figure out what I'd need as far as start up capital, building space, faculty, advertising, etc... My biggest hurdle is money. Without start up capital, nothing can happen. So if any of you guys have family who are venture capitalists.....

Like I said before, any ideas would be really appreciated.

[jake.fl.1987]

Well remember for profesional jobs, such as pharmacy school like you said there are a few problems. First is that you have to be qualified to do doctorate. A pharmacist is a doctorate degree. PharmD.

Then with professional degrees there is usualy another accredidation you have to meet in order for them to be allowed to sit in their boards.

[HawkGuy]

Yeah, I looked into that too. I worked in a pharmacy a few years back, my brother is trying to get into pharmacy school, and I'm dating a pharmacist. We've all sat down and talked about the state licensure requirements, rotations, internships, and a ton of other stuff. Pharmacy has it's own accreditation to get, but if the program meets all the requirements, it's not an issue.

The pharmacy program would be a college of the university, Like University of Arizona's College of Pharmacy. It would be basically the moneymaking part of the deal. That way I could eat some losses with the CLEP part of it if I had to. I'm totally looking to take all the good of the big 3 without all the high tuition and graduation fees.

[jake.fl.1987]

However would a college realy be profitble? Sounds like a lot of capitol to invest. What about starting it as like a comunity college or trade school and going from there? Might be more economical. And trade schools giving AS can be very profitable.

[HawkGuy]

Let's say tuition for Pharmacy school is 100K for the whole 3 year program. Let's also say that I have 100 seats available in the program. That's 10 million dollars. So 10 mil over 3 years is 3.33 million dollars a year. I know that most pharmacy schools charge more than 100k for the program and also have more than 100 students. So I'd be looking at about 3.5 million dollars income per year, if not closer to 4.

I really want to have a 4 yr program because most people want a Bachelors, not an Associates. And I think I could help more students like us with a 4 yr school. Besides, Phoenix has more than enough 2 yr programs for stuff like Dental Hygienist, Pharmacy Tech, Vet Tech, etc..

[avb]

HawkGuy -

That would be 3.5 million in revenue, not income. Then you have to pay for salaries, administration, building, etc.

Also, you say you want a 4 year program because people want Bachelor's degrees. With pharmacy school it is assumed people have already received their Bachelor's (or taken a pre-pharm program which is near a Bachelor's).