Center for Excellence in Higher Education

The Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE) is an Indiana-based nonprofit organization that supports free-market ideas in higher education.^[1] Its stated purpose is "to educate the public about the state of higher education in America and help donors promote excellence in higher education through philanthropy".^[2] The Center has as an area of particular focus the problem of ensuring that gifts to Universities and Colleges are used in ways that are in accordance with the intent of the donors.^[3][4][5] It also supports efforts directed at the structural reform of higher education. It received its initial funding from the Marcus Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the John William Pope Foundation.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Debbi Potts, a former employee of CollegeAmerica's Cheyenne, Wyoming, campus, resigned in 2012. She reported several alleged violations of the accredation standards to the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, the accrediting agency for CollegeAmerica. The Center denied the charges and sued Potts under a non-disparagement clause of her employment contract.^[12]

The Internal Revenue Service approved the Center's designation as a charity, but in August 2016, the Education Department refused to recognize its nonprofit status for the purposes of receiving federal grants and loans. The Education Department argued that the deal was an effort to circumvent stricter government regulation. The Center filed a suit in federal court accusing the Education Department of following a political agenda.^[13]

References

External links

• The Center for Excellence in Higher Education
• The John Templeton Foundation
• The John William Pope Foundation