An Ohio community college has agreed to shut down its “free college” partnership with trade unions — a partnership that led to skyrocketing enrollment but prompted deep concerns from accreditors and the U.S. Department of Education.
According to a preliminary settlement deal reached between Eastern Gateway Community College and federal officials, the college has agreed to “wind down” its free-college program, which it offered to members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, a large public-employee trade union.
The community college has also agreed to “repayment of some financial liability” to the U.S. Department of Education, which had previously raised concerns about the legality of Eastern Gateway’s program.
“We have been involved in good faith and fruitful negotiations with the U.S. Department of Education over the past several months, and we have jointly come to a preliminary agreement,” said Dennis Willard, a spokesperson for Eastern Gateway Community College. “There are still some final points to settle, but we believe when resolved Eastern Gateway Community College will be positioned to continue our mission to put our students first by offering them the lowest cost option to pursue a path toward a higher education.”
Education Department officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
The settlement agreement calls for the free-college program to shut down following the fall of 2023 semester, and Eastern Gateway will create a call center for students who are still enrolled after that semester “to assist them in finding other alternatives to complete their education.”
The Education Department last year called for an immediate halt to the free-college program.
At issue: Federal officials say Eastern Gateway used Pell Grant and state financial-aid dollars from students to pay for its “free” college program, but it improperly waived all tuition costs for students who didn’t qualify for financial aid.
While it lasted, the free-college program turned Eastern Gateway into an online-education powerhouse. Students could pursue degrees in fields such as accounting, criminal justice, and health-care administration.
The college, located in eastern Ohio, enrolled roughly 3,000 students in 2015. By 2020, its student population had skyrocketed to more than 40,000 students — and they hailed from states all across the country.
But the program’s recent regulatory problems, which included concerns raised by Eastern Gateway’s accreditor, have taken a toll. The Education Department is slowing the disbursement of financial aid to the college (a process known as heightened cash monitoring), and the college is finding a new president, according to the preliminary settlement agreement.
That new president will replace outgoing leader Michael Geoghegan, who was a proponent of the free-college program.
The college’s future financial stability is unclear. The preliminary settlement, when discussing the yet-to-be-determined sum that the college will pay the Education Department, states, “EGCC’s ability to repay any financial liability to ED hinges in part on enrollment for fall 2023 and its ability to terminate or revise current contracts.”
