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Ashford University
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Ashford University (Ashford University Online, AU, AUO) supports delivery of postgraduate and undergraduate degree programs online - as well as some traditional courses as well.
Ashford University is a private, coeducational liberal arts university located in Clinton, Iowa. The University offers online courses through its Center for External Studies. The school is regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Ashford is owned by an online education company which had 45,000 students enrolled at an August 2009 quarterly report - though the percentage of these studying at Ashford is not in the public domain.
99% percent of Bridgepoint students take their classes entirely online.
Per the Ashford web site:
- The mission of Ashford University is to provide accessible, affordable, innovative, high-quality learning opportunities and degree programs that meet the diverse needs of individuals pursuing integrity in their lives, professions, and communities.
Ashford permits and encourages extensive use of transfer credits from other schools, as well as work experience (see http://www.ashford.edu/online/facts.php), thus "accelerating" a degree program without requiring new courses to be completed. This is a controversial practice among US institutions.
Targeted students are those with full-time jobs, or those seeking to complete a degree already begun.
Courses are delivered via the Blackboard system.
Formerly known as Mount St. Clare College, The Franciscan University, and then The Franciscan University of the Prairies, it was purchased in March 2005 by Bridgepoint Education, Inc. At that time its name was changed to Ashford University, and it became a for-profit institution.
The university's main office is in Clinton, Iowa, US. The Ashford web site is at http://www.ashford.edu/home/
References
Ashford University's parent company sees enrollment figures grow, Quad City Times, 24 August 2009 - http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_80fc6bac-904f-11de-b85a-001cc4c03286.html