An article in the New York Times this week reported on the surge in education after the Great Depression. The article said, “In 1930, only 30 percent of teenagers graduated from high school. By 1940, after a decade in which there often was nothing better to do than stay in school, the number had jumped to 50 percent.”
The article went on to say, “In a historical echo, the share of young adults in recent years who graduated from college happened to be about 30 percent.”
Longtime readers of our publications know that we’ve been discussing the growing pro-profit education trend since the depths of the Great Recession. And the boom isn’t over yet. In fact, Editor Mike Cintolo featured Bridgepoint Education (BPI) in Cabot Top Ten Report on March 22, writing this:
“Bridgepoint Education operates two traditional post-secondary schools: Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa, and University of the Rockies in Colorado Springs, Colorado. But 99% of its (or Bridgepoint’s) students receive their education online, so location really doesn’t matter. Bridgepoint offers associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in such disciplines as business, education, psychology, social sciences and health sciences. And the company is growing fast by expanding its virtual footprint, capturing students who fail to succeed in traditional physical colleges. In fact, Ashford University has now completed a total of 38 articulation agreements representing 134 college campuses, meaning students can transfer credits from those schools to continue to work toward their degrees through Ashford. Total enrollment at the end of December was 53,688 students, up 70% from the year before. The latest earnings release, on March 2, was superb, topping analysts’ estimates and leading to a rosy forecast for the future.”
It was also recently featured in Cabot Wealth Advisory when Paul Goodwin wrote:
“BPI is a relatively young stock, having come public in April 2009, and it began 2010 trading at 15. The stock is now around 25, after a huge surge in March, and is digesting its gains. The technical cue to look for is a breakout above its old high of 27.5 on heightened volume.”
We’re still waiting on that breakout, but in encouraging news, the stock looks to be forming a base around its current level. I expect it to head higher once the market resumes its uptrend.