Observant readers may have noticed that I haven’t linked to many of my stories from the DMN recently. That’s because…I haven’t been writing much to link to. I’ve been off writing a series of stories, and that series finally ran over the last three days.
Sunday: “For a newborn college, the road to respectability runs through accreditation. It can take a school up to a decade to earn the nation’s official mark of quality. But last year some Dallas investors, keen to quickly launch a profitable revolution in higher education, found a shortcut to accreditation. They bought it.” Plus a sidebar.
Monday: “Dallas entrepreneur Randy Best has owned more than 100 companies in his career. Bakeries and defense contractors. Greeting-card makers and health-care companies. Companies that sell telecom equipment and companies that sell cheerleading equipment. But now, at 63, his focus is fully on education. Mr. Best is launching a network of for-profit education companies that he says could revolutionize the way students are taught, both in the U.S. and around the world.” With a sidebar on former Dallas superintendent Mike Moses and his current life in the private sector.
Tuesday: “Gerald Heeger is a newcomer to Texas, but he isn’t afraid to set Texas-size goals. In five years, he wants his company, Whitney International University, to enroll more than half a million students around the world and be on its way to becoming the biggest provider of higher education the Earth has ever seen. ‘How’s that for audacity?’ Dr. Heeger said in his downtown Dallas office. ‘I believe there’s a big problem in the world, and big problems need big solutions.'” Plus a sidebar on the company’s plans to “redefine” high school.