July 15, 2014
To: All Employees
From: Jack Massimino, Chairman and CEO
Subject: Update on Progress
We’ve made considerable progress over the past couple of weeks, and this email provides an update on where we stand.
What we’ve accomplished
Our Operating Agreement with The Department of Education (ED) was completed on July 3rd; it provides the blueprint for an orderly transition of our schools over the next few months. We’ve met payroll, resumed partial payments to vendors, and have a mechanism in place for the continued release of Title IV funds to help us through the transition. And as of today, we have substantially completed ED’s extensive document request for information on more than 175,000 graduates.
It took all of us
None of our progress would have been possible without the efforts of hundreds of employees who worked seven days a week to complete these major initiatives. In addition, our regional and campus leaders and front line employees continue to keep our schools operating as smoothly as possible under difficult circumstances. Our instructors have helped students stay focused on their studies; campus leaders have communicated information about campus sales or teach-outs to employees and students; we’ve implemented new student disclosures, and dealt with aggressive competitors and tenacious reporters. Please accept my thanks for all of your efforts.
Media pressure has been intense
The news media coverage has been overwhelmingly negative and difficult to read (can they really be talking about us?), but I want to give a special thank you to Kent Jenkins, vice-president, public affairs, who has been the public face and spokesperson for CCi during – as he calls it “the full-throated war cry” of the media. Kent and the entire corporate communications team are doing their level best to tell our side of the story under mostly hostile conditions. But then again, some media outlets got it right, from the Wall Street Journal editorial board to the Laramie Boomerang. (see links below)
(https://hub.cci.edu) (then click on the WSJ op-ed story on the front page of the HUB)
(http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2014/07/15/opinion/doc53c1ff931b259912919002.txt)
Buyers are interested in our campuses
We are seeing substantial interest from potential buyers for our schools, including interest from non-profit and for-profit organizations. Although we can’t predict how the sales process will ultimately turn out, our preferred buyers are those who share our mission and have an interest in retaining our well-qualified employees. We are working to complete a sale of our campuses as quickly as possible, while making thoughtful decisions. We will keep you updated on our progress.
ED Monitor in Place Soon
We are close to announcing the monitor who will serve as the liaison between CCi and ED as we implement the Operating Agreement. You will hear more about this selection in the near future. Also, we will be hosting ED officials at our Campus Support Center this Thursday, July 17 and will be discussing our administrative capabilities and further defining the process for working with the monitor. In addition, we plan to take the ED officials on a school tour.
Stay focused; stay strong
As always, the best we can do is to continue to stay focused on our students and their dreams for better lives.
I will continue to update you as we have news to share.
Jack
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