Thread regarding Education Management Corporation layoffs

Also, due to the high maintenance cost, we will be reducing the number of stalls in each bathroom to 1 toilet. We regret the long wait but some sacrifices must be made. In an emergency, there is a semi-private area outside near the bushes behind the trash.

I have little respect for Carla Caldwell. She blames the faculty for all kinds of things out of their control. She disciplined a manager who mentioned that enrolling students with literacy and mental health issues was going to affect retention. More than one of these higher lever managers has no background in business or management or education. Lord knows how they rose to the top.

Don't think it's all Ed West. Follow the money (and power)--and you'll find Goldman Sachs.

Hey Anonymous29099, don't forget that stock option revenue. He'll probably have to learn to get by with about 10 million. Funny how it works, they do not seem to give up much but when it comes to their business plan...just take more from the employee or do another RIF. That'll streamline things so we can better serve our students. Idiots - they'll let anyone with a pulse and no conscious be in charge of a multi-billion dollar (dis)organization.

Hey, stop selfishly thinking of yourselves and consider poor Ed! I mean, $6,025,304 (That was 2013) doesn't go as far as it used to. He will probably have to work long into his 50s.

Good afternoon,

I want to update you on some important developments.

In light of the challenging operating environment, we are pro-actively initiating actions to transform our organization, make education more affordable and better position the company for growth.

We are focused on three main areas: lowering the cost of education for students, simplifying our regulatory structure, and reducing costs.

Lowering the cost of education for students is one of our top priorities. To support this effort, The Art Institutes are rolling out a new grant program, the Art Grant, starting at campuses in the Western U.S. This will lower the cost of education by as much as 20 percent and reward students who successfully earn credits toward their degrees. The Art Institutes plan to introduce this program to other campuses across the education system in the future.

Managing multiple education systems across 32 states requires a great deal of time, money and effort. We are exploring the possibility of further consolidating separately accredited institutions. As we evaluate this process, it is important to remember all colleges and universities will continue to follow their existing policies and practices. A simplified accreditation structure could allow us to introduce new programs and degree levels at our institutions, providing students with a greater variety of degree options and more choice in current discipline offerings.

Finally, as I mentioned above, we are operating in a challenging environment and we must further reduce costs. This will require some sacrifices that may not be popular, but will help our institutions in the short-term. Regrettably, as part of a wide-ranging cost-cutting effort, we are going to temporarily suspend the company match to our 401(k) program. We originally lowered the match from 6 to 4 percent, but because of the current circumstances, it is necessary to suspend the match completely. Our plan is to re-institute a company match as quickly as we possibly can.

In addition, following up on our announcement from May, discussions with our lenders are ongoing. There is a tremendous amount of work being done to create a new capital structure that will provide greater financial flexibility for the company going forward.

Let me be clear on two things. First, the need for higher education in our country is going up, not down, and I believe in the tremendous service we provide to our students in helping them achieve their educational goals. Second, I believe in our people, and together we will manage through this transition.

Thank you for your continued support and all you are doing each and every day to help drive student success.

Best,

Ed

The problem is that 5% of revenue goes toward interest. How will the $1.2B in debt ever get paid?

Wonder if layoffs will be after everyone starts their students?

I wonder if that cum dumpster will take a pay cut as part of the cost savings measures. What an absolutely terrible CEO.

Look, I hate losing my 401k match. And I really need it, I'm pushing retirement age. But this is a fairly common thing in business nowadays, I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner. It's a smart move on Ed's part - It's not personal, it's business. The ship is sinking you have to jettison things overboard. I'd rather lose my 401k than my job. I'm interested in reading between the lines of the rest of the letter - Are we going to do a mashup of schools? "further consolidating separately accredited institutions."

Demonizing upper management is, how can I say this, just not justified. The damage to the schools was done long ago and now the job is to keep things afloat and maybe even make things right, although I doubt that is possible due to the cost of the programs and the job market. Upper management has its issues, don't get me wrong. I've seen and continue to see some real unpleasantness in upper management - myopic, over bearing, strident...But that's found everywhere, in every institution - Especially universities. I've worked at a number of them. Ivory tower elitists. Primma donnas. Yeck. The biggest issue I find here is, regardless of how you spin it: The degrees are too expensive for the jobs you get to pay off the loans, and the marketing doesn't address that. But students take some blame here as well. That's another thread. So don't take it out on Ed. He's just trying to run a business. I mean a school. Wait...Maybe that's the problem? :-)

I don't understand how raises are approved when "cost reducing measures" keep happening.