Bryant & Stratton College seeks to permission to convert to a nonprofit institution

Bryant & Stratton College is based in New York and operates campuses in many states, including four locations in Ohio in Akron, Cleveland, Parma, and Solon. Late last year the college announced their intention to convert to a nonprofit educational institution. Because the college is based in New York, the initial request for change in status was submitted to the New York State Department of Education and accepted. However, the U.S. Department of Education has not yet approved the change. The switch would allow the college to stop paying taxes on earnings, a move the school says will allow them to reinvest in the educational programs. The timing of the change might indicate that the college is concerned about changes in policy stances from the U.S. Department of Education as the Biden Administration takes charge.

Under the plan, the ownership of Bryant & Stratton College would transfer from Dr. Bryant H. Prentice III to the Prentice Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by the Prentice family in 2007. The request, filed with and approved by the New York Department of Education states that Dr. Prentice would receive nothing back from the donation of the college to the foundation, and that the move is being taken now because there is no heir to take over and as part of estate planning, Dr. Prentice wanted to complete the transfer now.

In an article from Inside Higher Ed, a YouTube video released (and later taken down) by the president of Bryant & Stratton College, Fran Felser, was quoted, "The college needs to change and grow to remain viable and the college needs cash -- all organizations need cash -- to invest in those initiatives and change and grow to remain viable. We will be able to invest more into the college for the benefit of our students."

It is also possible that the timing of the change is linked to the transition from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration. When Betsy DeVos served as Education Secretary under Trump, many regulations pertaining to for-profit colleges were discontinued and experts expect those regulations will be reinstituted under the yet-to-be-confirmed Miguel Cardona.

According to the request filed by Bryant & Stratton College with the state of New York, "There is expected to be no impact on the daily life of the campus community. The College's institutional mission would remain unchanged."