Fortis College (also Fortis Institute and Fortis College of Nursing in some locations) is a

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for-profit college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities generally operated by their owners, investors, or shareholders in a manner prioritizing shareholder primacy as opposed to education provided by non-profit institution (such as non-se ...

with campuses throughout the United States and online education. It was established in 2008 and is operated by Education Affiliates and owned by

JLL Partners JLL Partners is an American private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout transactions and leveraged recapitalizations of Middle-Market Companies, middle-market companies. The firm is headquartered in New York City, and was founded in 1987. Si ...

Education Affiliates and JLL Partners

Education Affiliates (EA) operates Fortis College and Fortis Institute, and is headquartered in Nottingham, Maryland. EA is an investment of

and was incorporated in 2004. Its other schools include ASPE Training, All-State Career School, DriveCo CDL Learning Center, Saint Paul's School of Nursing, Georgia Driving Academy, and the Denver School of Nursing.

History

Growth (2008 to 2013)

From 2008 to 2013, Fortis College and Fortis Institutes grew from one school in Phoenix, Arizona to more than 40 schools in 17 states. Fortis purchased other for-profit schools including: Virginia Career Institute, Capps College, North Florida Institute, Medix School, AMTI, National Institute of Technology, RETS College, Gulf Coast College, Florida Career Institute, Technical Career Institute, Berdan Institute, Tri-State Business Institute, and MedVance Institute.

Downsizing (2013 to present)

Revenues: *2012-13: $253,193,698 *2013-14: $235,792,358 *2014-15: $210,264,921 *2015-16: $196,007,578 *2016-17: $193,271,039 Enrollment losses and unprofitability have resulted in campus closures in Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania. and Texas. These loses have been ameliorated by the transfer of students from other

for-profit colleges Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities generally operated by their owners, investors, or shareholders in a manner prioritizing shareholder primacy as opposed to education provided by non-profit institution (such as non-sec ...

that have closed their doors. In 2015, Education Affiliates, the parent company of Fortis, "agreed to pay $13 million to the United States to resolve allegations that it violated the

False Claims Act False or falsehood may refer to: * False (logic), the negation of truth in classical logic * Lie or falsehood, a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement * False statement, aka a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a st ...

by submitting false claims to the Department of Education for federal student aid for students enrolled in its programs." Part of the $13 million settlement provided for repayment of $1.9 million that resulted from Education Affiliates "awarding federal financial aid to students at its Fortis-Miami campus based on invalid high school credentials issued by a diploma mill." In 2016–17, 21 Fortis locations were unprofitable: Centerville, Cincinnati, Columbia, Cutler Bay, Cuyahoga Falls, Grand Prairie, Houston, Indianapolis, Norfolk, Phoenix, Richmond, Baltimore, Birmingham, Cookeville, Erie, Forty Fort, Lawrenceville, and Nashville. In 2020 and 2021 Fortis received more than $50 million in stimulus funds. *$32.6 million under the CARES Act *$14.9 million under the second round of Coronavirus funds. *$8.4 million (projected) under the American Rescue Plan. At least a dozen locations are under US Department of Education heightened cash monitoring for financial irresponsibility.

Academics

Fortis offers Associate of Art degrees and certificates.

Accreditation

Fortis Colleges and Fortis Institutes are institutionally accredited by the following institutional accreditors: *

Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools The Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) is a recognized higher education accreditation organization in the United States specializing in the institutional accreditation of private, postsecondary institutions that offer allied he ...

Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States that provides national accreditation to Private school, private post-secondary educational institutions. It is re ...

Council on Occupational Education The Council on Occupational Education (COE) is a national accrediting agency of higher education institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. COE was created in 1971 as part of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The ...

Additionally, a number of Fortis Colleges and Institutes received institutional accreditation from the

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) was a Non-profit organization, non-profit education corporation that was recognized by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous Higher education ...

(ACICS). ACICS lost recognition as an institutional accreditor from the

Council for Higher Education Accreditation The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is an American organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order to ...

(CHEA) in 2017 and from the US Department of Education in 2022. In September 2018, the Orange Park, Florida campus voluntarily withdrew from

ACICS The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) was a non-profit education corporation that was recognized by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous higher education accrediting body until ...

. In April 2019, ACICS renewed Fortis' accreditation for its Norfolk, Virginia campus until September 30, 2019, but continued its compliance warning. According to ACICS, Fortis did not adequately maintain student records related to admissions and student progress.

Faculty

Faculty at Fortis are primarily

adjunct professors An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

. The percentage of instructors that are full time range from 10 percent to 40 percent, depending on the campus. Fortis College in Mobile, Alabama has 3 full-time instructors and 34 part-time instructors. Fortis Institute in Wayne, New Jersey has 12 full-time instructors and 25 part-time instructors.

Students

Fortis schools have racially and ethnically diverse student populations. The demographic breakdown of the Phoenix campus is 34 percent White, 34 percent Hispanic, 22 percent Black, 4 percent unknown, 2 percent American Indian/Alaska Native, 2 percent two or more races, 1 percent Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 1% Asian. The breakdown of the Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio campus are 56 percent White, 31 percent Black, 5 percent Asian, 4 percent unknown, 2percent two or more races, and 1 percent Hispanic.

College costs and student outcomes

According to the US Department of Education's

College Scorecard The College Scorecard is an online tool, created by the United States government, for consumers to compare the cost and value of higher education institutions in the United States. At launch, it displayed data in five areas: cost, graduation rate ...

, the average annual cost of attending Fortis College ranges from $16,958 to 30,687. *Fortis students have a graduation rate ranging from 29 to 72 percent, depending on the campus. *Median salary after attending ranges from $24,100 to $33,200. *Student loan repayment rates range from 20 to 24 percent.

Gainful employment

According to the

Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscriptio ...

, the following programs failed gainful employment standards. In failing programs, graduates have loan payments exceeding 12 percent of total earnings or 30 percent of discretionary income. *Centerville, OH: legal assistant/paralegal, AA *Centerville, OH: criminal justice/safety studies, AA *Centerville, OH: medical insurance specialist/medical biller, AA *Centerville, OH: medical/clinical assistant, AA *Norfolk, VA: criminal justice/safety studies, AA *Norfolk, VA: health information/medical records technology/technician, AA *Norfolk, VA: medical/clinical assistant, AA *Erie, PA: computer graphics, AA *Erie, PA: cosmetology/cosmetologist, Undergraduate certificate *Erie, PA: barbering/barber, Undergraduate certificate *Erie, PA: legal assistant/paralegal, AA *Erie, PA: criminal justice/safety studies, AA *Erie, PA: health information/medical records technology/technician, AA *Erie, PA: medical/clinical assistant, AA *Erie, PA: massage therapy/therapeutic message, AA *Erie, PA: business administration and management, general, AA *Erie, PA: accounting technology/technician and bookkeeping, AA *Erie, PA: administrative assistant and secretarial science, general, AA

Locations

Fortis College

*Dothan, AL (141 students) *Foley, AL (89 students) *Mobile, AL (301 students) *Montgomery, AL (264 students) *Phoenix, AZ (156 students) *Cutler Bay, FL (379 students) *Orange Park, FL (442 students) *Smyrna, GA (516 students) *Indianapolis, IN (408 students) *Baton Rouge, LA (387 students) *Landover, MD (603 students) *Centerville, OH (491 students) *Cincinnati, OH (562 students) *Columbus, OH (904 students) *Cuyahoga Falls, OH (561 students) *Columbia, SC (438 students) *Houston, TX (327 students) *Millcreek, UT (490 students) *Norfolk, VA (441 students) *Richmond, VA (455 students)

Fortis Institute

*Birmingham, AL (539 students) *Pensacola, FL (668 students) *Port St. Lucie, FL (481 students) *Towson, MD (510 students) *Lawrenceville, NJ (266 students) *Wayne, NJ (479 students) *Forty Fort, PA (172 students) *Scranton, PA (241 students) *Cookeville, TN (303 students) *Nashville, TN (479 students) *Houston, TX (300 students)

Closed locations

*Tampa, Florida (2013) *Jacksonville, Florida (2014) *Miami, Florida (2014) *Mulberry, Florida (2015) *Largo, Florida (2016) *Lauderdale Lakes, Florida (2016) *Palm Springs, Florida (2016) *Winter Park, Florida (2016) *Erie, Pennsylvania (2018) *Ravenna, Ohio (2018) *Woodlawn, Maryland (2018) *Grand Prairie, Texas (2019) *Baltimore, Maryland *Phoenix, Arizona (2019) *Erie, Pennsylvania (2019) *Foley, AL (2022)

Department of Education heightened cash monitoring

The following Fortis schools are on US Department of Education

heightened cash monitoring In the United States, higher education is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. It is also referred to as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 on the ...

as of December 2018. Financial responsibility numbers are at the lowest level, -1. * Fortis College, Cuyahoga Falls, OH * Fortis Institute, Towson, MD * Fortis Institute, Wayne, NJ * Fortis College, Centerville, OH * Fortis College, Mobile, AL * Fortis Institute, Forty Fort, PA * Fortis Institute, Scranton, PA * Fortis College, Foley, AL * Fortis College, Orange Park, FL * Fortis College, Baton Rouge, LA

References