Why are the enrollment numbers for Ashford University reported to the SEC so much higher than the numbers reported to ED? Is it simply a matter of definitions, or is someone cooking the books? If it is cooking the books, are all the subprime colleges doing it and just not getting caught?
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As I take a look at these questionable numbers, I wonder, what happened to all those shareholder lawsuits? They couldn't have all gone away. And how does a company stay in business if it posts bogus numbers?
Ashford's fall enrollment in the NCES for 2016-17 was 36,453. The December 2016 enrollment in their 10K was 45,087. Then I looked two different ways in which NCES measures enrollment: Fall enrollment and 12-month enrollment. And the numbers there were mind-boggling for Ashford. In the NCES, Ashford's 12-month enrollment in FY 17 was 92,383! That must mean that Ashford churns through students like there is no tomorrow.