Walden University President Michael Betz Cashing In

Walden University President Michael Betz has sold $380,000 worth of Adtalem shares. Walden is one of America's largest robocolleges, proving online education to tens of thousands of folks in psychology, social work, nursing, education, business, and criminal justice each year.  

Adtalem, formerly known as DeVry Education, is Walden's parent company.  Adtalem also owns the Chamberlain College of Nursing and medical schools in the Carribean.  Walden and Adtalem have been profitable despite mediocre results for worker/consumers, a disproportionate number are women and people of color.  

In 2024, Walden settled a case for $28M that claimed the school systematically deceived black and female students.   

Ambow Education's Latest Move Raises Red Flags—A Second Warning to Colorado State University

On June 11, Ambow Education Holding Ltd. (NYSE American: AMBO) announced the appointment of James Bartholomew as its new president, emphasizing his leadership experience at DeVry University and Adtalem Global Education. While this move is being framed as part of a bold pivot toward global expansion through its hybrid learning platform, HybriU, the deeper reality of Ambow’s operations suggests that institutions like Colorado State University (CSU) should proceed with extreme caution.

Ambow Education is no stranger to controversy. In May 2022, The Higher Education Inquirer began investigating the company after credible tips about its mismanagement of Bay State College in Boston. The Massachusetts Attorney General had already fined the school in 2020 for misleading students. By August 2023, Bay State College closed abruptly, leaving behind a mess for students and staff. Throughout this time, Ambow operated with an alarming level of opacity, raising concerns among journalists, regulators, and public officials—including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley.

Ambow’s financial practices and leadership structure have remained elusive, with lingering ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The company sold its PRC-based assets in 2022 and relocated to a small office in Cupertino, California, but its auditor remains based in China, and it has expressed interest in projects in Morocco and Tunisia involving Chinese-affiliated partners. The proverb about fishing in murky waters aptly describes how Ambow has operated in both Chinese and American markets.

Now, Ambow is promoting HybriU, a “phygital” platform it claims is revolutionizing education and corporate communication. Marketed heavily at events like CES and ASU-GSV, HybriU has been linked to a $1.3 million contract with a small firm in Singapore, but no major U.S. clients have been named. Visuals from the company’s website include stock images, and there’s no publicly available evidence that HybriU is delivering measurable results in any real-world education setting. The platform’s “OOOK” (One-on-One Knowledge) technology was first introduced in China in 2021, but it has yet to prove itself in American classrooms.

James Bartholomew’s appointment appears to be aimed at lending credibility to the HybriU initiative. However, his background warrants a closer look. DeVry University, where Bartholomew previously served as CEO, was embroiled in a long list of scandals, including a $100 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in 2016 for deceptive advertising practices. These included inflated job placement claims and misleading earnings expectations for graduates. The Department of Education also scrutinized DeVry for poor student loan repayment metrics and aggressive recruiting tactics.

At Adtalem Global Education—DeVry’s former parent company—similar concerns persisted. Offshore medical schools under Adtalem’s umbrella, such as Ross University and American University of the Caribbean, were criticized for high tuition, student debt, and low U.S. residency placement rates. The company spent years lobbying against federal gainful employment regulations that were designed to protect students from predatory institutions. While Bartholomew may not have initiated these practices, he held leadership roles during a time when the institutions were navigating declining trust, financial turbulence, and increasing regulatory scrutiny.

Against this backdrop, reports have emerged that Colorado State University is considering a partnership with Ambow to implement the HybriU platform. On the surface, this might seem like a step toward innovation and flexibility in digital learning. But such a partnership could expose CSU to national security and data privacy risks, regulatory backlash, reputational damage, and questionable academic outcomes.

Given Ambow’s historical ties to the PRC, questions have been raised about the possibility of exposing sensitive university data to foreign surveillance or influence. CSU is a major research university with partnerships across science, defense, and technology. Even the perception that its digital infrastructure could be compromised could undermine public trust and jeopardize government grants and contracts.

The regulatory landscape is also increasingly cautious when it comes to foreign influence, particularly from China, in American higher education. Federal agencies have warned about the risks of partnerships that could compromise institutional independence or data integrity. Entering into a relationship with a firm like Ambow could place CSU under increased scrutiny or spark political backlash.

From a pedagogical perspective, HybriU is unproven. It has yet to demonstrate any significant results in U.S. education settings, and its claims are not substantiated by independent data. Adopting a platform without a strong record could endanger CSU’s teaching mission and student learning experiences at a time when the credibility of online education remains fragile.

Historically, investors and institutions have backed away from Ambow. The company was delisted from the NYSE in 2014 following accounting fraud allegations and shareholder lawsuits. It has struggled to maintain financial health and transparency. Its last remaining U.S. college, NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego, has just 280 students and is currently under Heightened Cash Monitoring (HCM2) by the U.S. Department of Education. Lawsuits in San Diego allege non-payment of rent and unpaid compensation to the school’s former president. 

Meanwhile, Ambow has commissioned favorable research reports—like one from Argus Research—even though its spending on research and development remains remarkably low, at only $100,000 per quarter. Its current auditor, Prouden CPA, is new to the company’s books and based in China. Whether Ambow’s next annual report will bring clarity or further confusion remains to be seen.

For these reasons, The Higher Education Inquirer urges the leadership of Colorado State University to approach Ambow with skepticism and perform exhaustive due diligence. The CSU community deserves full transparency regarding Ambow’s ownership, financial practices, and data handling policies. Decisions should be made in consultation with cybersecurity experts, faculty, IT professionals, and government advisors. Alternative domestic edtech providers should be considered—especially those that are accountable, proven, and aligned with CSU’s mission.

At a time when public trust in higher education is strained and geopolitical tensions are high, it is not enough to adopt flashy technology for the sake of appearance. Colorado State University—and the taxpayers who support it—deserve better than an experiment based on unproven claims and a troubling history. CSU should reconsider any move forward with Ambow, before it finds itself entangled in another education debacle disguised as innovation.

Murky Waters 2: Ambow Education, Chinese Influence, and US Edtech, 2013-2025

In Chinese culture, there’s an old proverb: “混水摸鱼” — “In murky waters, it is easier to catch fish.” The lesson is clear: confusion and opacity benefit those looking to manipulate outcomes for personal gain. In politics, finance, and international affairs, it is a warning. In the case of Ambow Education Holding Ltd., it may be a roadmap.

On June 26, 2025, Ambow announced a partnership with the tiny University of the West (UWest), a Buddhist college in Rosemead, California, enrolling just 153 students. The deal will implement Ambow’s HybriU platform—a so-called “phygital” learning solution combining digital and physical education delivery—positioning the technology as a tool for expanding U.S. academic access to international students. But a closer look reveals a story less about educational innovation than about power, soft influence, and the financialization of struggling institutions.

Ambow, a Cayman Islands–registered and formerly Beijing-based EdTech firm, has quietly entrenched itself in U.S. higher education. While other sectors of the U.S. economy—especially semiconductors and AI—have become more cautious of Chinese-linked investment due to national security concerns, American higher education remains notably exposed. The Ambow-UWest partnership exemplifies that vulnerability.

This is not Ambow’s first foray into U.S. academia. In 2013, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and liquidated after accusations of accounting irregularities. Rebranded and restructured offshore, Ambow re-entered the market, acquiring distressed for-profit colleges. In 2017, it bought Bay State College in Boston. Three years later, Massachusetts fined the school $1.1 million for fraudulent advertising, inflated placement rates, and illegal telemarketing. The school shuttered in 2023 after eliminating key services, including its library, and squandering pandemic-era federal aid.

In 2020, Ambow acquired the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego. Since then, NewSchool has appeared on the U.S. Department of Education’s Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 list, signifying severe financial instability. Lawsuits followed, including one for unpaid rent and another over compensation disputes involving the school’s former president.

Still, Ambow continues to market itself as a leader in “AI-driven” phygital innovation. HybriU, its flagship platform, has been promoted at edtech and investor conferences like CES and ASU-GSV, with lofty promises about immersive education and intelligent classrooms. But the evidence is thin. The platform’s website contains vague marketing language, no peer-reviewed validation, no public client list, and stock images masquerading as real users. Its core technology, OOOK (One-on-One Knowledge), was piloted in China in 2021 but shows no signs of adoption by credible U.S. institutions.

Why, then, would a college like University of the West—or potentially a major public institution like Colorado State University (CSU), reportedly exploring a partnership with Ambow—risk associating with such an entity?

To understand the stakes, we must follow the money and the power behind the brand.

Ambow’s largest shareholder bloc is controlled by Jian-Yue Pan (aka Pan Jianyue), a Chinese executive with deep ties to the country’s tech and investment elite. Pan is general partner of CEIHL Partners I and II, two Cayman Islands entities that control roughly 26.7 percent of Ambow’s publicly floated Class A shares. He also chairs Uphill Investment Co., which is active in the semiconductor and electronics sectors, and holds board positions in tech firms with connections to Tsinghua University—one of China’s premier talent pipelines for its national strategic industries.

Pan’s voting control over Ambow gives him sweeping influence over its corporate decisions, executive appointments, and strategic direction. His role raises critical concerns about the use of U.S. higher education infrastructure as a potential channel for data access, market expansion, and soft geopolitical influence.

To further legitimize its U.S. operations, Ambow recently appointed James Bartholomew as company president. Bartholomew’s resume includes controversial stints at DeVry University and Adtalem Global Education. While at DeVry, the institution was fined $100 million by the FTC for deceptive marketing. At Adtalem, he oversaw operations criticized for offshore medical schools and active resistance to gainful employment regulations.

Even Ambow’s financial underpinnings are suspect. Its R&D spending hovers around $100,000 per quarter—trivial for a firm purporting to lead in AI and immersive tech. Its audits are performed by Prouden CPA, a virtually unknown Chinese firm, not one of the major global accounting networks. These red flags suggest not a dynamic tech company, but a shell operation kept afloat by hype, misdirection, and strategic ambiguity.

That makes its ambitions in U.S. public education all the more dangerous.

Reports that Colorado State University—a land-grant institution managing sensitive federal research—may be considering a partnership with Ambow should prompt urgent scrutiny. Has CSU conducted a full cybersecurity and national security risk assessment? Have university stakeholders—faculty, students, and the public—been involved in the review process? Or is the university racing blindly into an agreement driven by budget pressures and buzzwords?

American higher education has long been susceptible to bad actors promising solutions to enrollment declines and funding shortfalls. But in recent years, the cost of these decisions has grown. With campuses increasingly dependent on international student tuition and digital platforms, the door has opened to exploitative operators and geopolitical influence.

Ambow has already shuttered one U.S. college. Its remaining campus is on shaky footing. Its technology lacks serious vetting. Its leadership is tethered to past scandals. And its largest shareholder has interests far beyond education.

This is not just about Ambow. It is about the structural vulnerabilities in American higher education—an industry ripe for manipulation by financial speculators, tech opportunists, and foreign actors operating with impunity. The murky waters of privatized, digitized education reward those who operate without transparency.

Public universities must remember who they serve: students, faculty, and the public—not offshore shareholders or unproven platforms.

If Colorado State or any other institution moves forward with Ambow, they owe the public clear answers: What protections are in place? What risks are being considered? Who really controls the platforms delivering instruction? And most importantly, why are public institutions turning to unstable, opaque companies for core educational delivery?

As the proverb reminds us, murky waters are fertile ground for hidden agendas. But education, above all, demands clarity, integrity, and public accountability.

---

Sources:

• SEC filings and 20-F reports: sec.gov

• Massachusetts Attorney General settlement with Bay State College, March 2020

• Federal Trade Commission settlement with DeVry University, December 2016

• U.S. Department of Education Heightened Cash Monitoring List

• NYSE delisting notices, 2013

• CES and ASU-GSV conference archives, 2023–2024

• Corporate data from MarketScreener and CEIHL Partners

• Ambow’s 2023 Annual Report and quarterly 6-K filings

College Meltdown 2.1

The Higher Education Inquirer has added three companies to its College Meltdown watchlist: Ambow Education (AMBO),  SoFi (SOFI), and Adtalem (ATGE).  

Leading the way is National American University Holdings (NAUH), which is down to less than $50,000 in cash.  Ambow Education (AMBO) and Aspen Group (ASPU) are near penny stock territory and Barnes and Noble Education (BNED) and SoFi (SOFI) are also in deep financial trouble. 

Declining share price is not the only factor to make the College Meltdown list.  Government contractor Maximus (MMS), for example, is on the list for its predatory behavior with student debtors and its own workers, as well as its questionable contracts with the US Department of Education. 

Adtalem makes the list for continuing to put lots of working-class folks (particularly women and people of color) into a lifetime of student loan debt. 

2U is identified for its fleecing of its clients (universities), end customers (students) and shareholders.  In its last annual report, the company told shareholders that the number one risk was that it may never make a profit.  

2U (TWOU) Shares have dropped 70 percent over the last year (Source: Seeking Alpha) 

Shares of student loan refinance company SoFi (SOFI) are down 70 percent over the last year 

(Source: Seeking Alpha)

Barnes and Noble Education (BNED) shares have dropped 66 percent over the last 6 months.

(Source: Seeking Alpha)

Aspen Group (ASPU) shares have declined 82 percent over the last year. 

(Source: Seeking Alpha) 

Related link: College Meltdown 2.0

Related link: Maximus, Student Loan Debt, and the Poverty Industrial Complex

Related link: Online Program Manager for University of Arizona Global Campus Facing Financial Collapse

Related link: College Meltdown 2.0

Related link: 2U Virus Expands College Meltdown to Elite Universities

Higher Ed Became More Brutal During 2020-21 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic was the largest news item in US higher education in 2020 and the beginning of 2021.  It certainly had an effect on higher education enrollment and revenues.   But the larger story, according to author Gary Roth, was that the “College Dream is Over.”  

College is supposed to be a transitional space between K-12 education and good jobs. But savage inequalities in the K-12 pipeline, alienating and sometimes questionably substandard online education, and fewer good jobs at the end of the pipeline meant that more students would be unprepared for college and for work life in the brutal tech (fintech, medtech, and edtech) and gig economy.  

Banks and big businesses (including brand name universities and for-profit colleges ) were bailed out twice in 2020 by the federal government as student debtors only got temporarily relief.  

Savage inequalities in the K-12 pipeline intensified with online education and the hollowing out of America continued.  

Under the Trump administration, privatization, deregulation, and lack of transparency  (in gainful employment, defense to repayment, student loan repayment rate) were the rule.  2021 shows promise for progressive change, but we'll have to wait and see if anything gets done to reduce the College Meltdown.  

• The Student Debt Crisis is a Crisis of Non-Repayment (Marshall Steinbaum)
• More people with bachelor’s degrees go back to school to learn skilled trades (John Marcus, Hechinger Report)
• Student Loan Losses Seen Costing U.S. More Than $400 Billion (Josh Mitchell, Wal Street Journal)
• Nearly All States Suffer Declines in Education Jobs (Barb Rosewicz & Mike Maciag, Pew)
• COVID-19 Will Likely Shrink Job Market For College Grads (Government Executive)
• Law student debt averages about $165K at graduation, creating stress and restricting choices, survey says (Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal)
• Higher Ed's Dirty Little Secrets (Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Education)
• Colleges Slash Budgets in the Pandemic, With ‘Nothing Off-Limits’ (Shawn Hubler, NY Times)
• Permamanent Budget Cuts Are Coming (Robert Kelchen, CHE)
• A Separate And Unequal System of College Admissions (Anthony Abraham, NY Times)
• House Democrats Drop Canceling Student Loans (Kery Murakami, IHE)
• College Town Economies Brace for Covid Blow (WSJ)
• 30 college towns that could face economic ruin if schools don't reopen or have to close again this fall (Madison Hoff, Business Insider)
• Laureate Education to Sell Walden University to Adtalem Global Education (Market Watch)
• 'It's going horribly': College towns fret about census count (ABC News)
• Student Loans Plummeted for the Summer Term (Kevin Miller, The Century Foundation)
• University of Arizona Acquires Ashford University (IHE, Lindsay McKenzie)
• The Nightmare That Colleges Face This Fall (Adam Harris, The Atlantic)
• No students. No graduation. ‘Total devastation’ in college towns during coronavirus pandemic (Zoe Nicholson and Ed Semmler,Yahoo Finance)
• University Leaders Are Failing (François Furstenberg, Chronicle of Higher Education)
• The Coming Disruption of Higher Education (New York interview with Scott Galloway)
• Demand for refunds intensifies among college students (Jessica Dickler, CNBC)
• Latest Coronavirus News (Inside Higher Education)
• Coronavirus Pushes Colleges to the Breaking Point, Forcing 'Hard Choices' about Education (Wall Street Journal)
• Adjuncts Barely Getting By (Colleen Flaherty, IHE)
• Students are considering dropping out of college because of coronavirus (Abigail Hess, MSN.com)
• Will Parents Pay? (Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed)
• Masters of None (Grace Gedye, Washington Monthly)
• Public Colleges Face Looming Financial Blow (Kery Murakami, Inside Higher Education)
• With May 1 'Decision Day' Looming, 69 Percent of Parents and 55 Percent of Students Say Coronavirus Has Impacted Their Ability to Pay for College (KPVI)
• ‘I Was Horrified’: For Millions of Borrowers, the Coronavirus Stimulus Law Offers No Relief (Danielle McLean, Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Preparing for a Fall Without In-Person Classes (Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Education)
• Presidents Fear Financial, and Human, Toll of Coronavirus (Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Education)
• Will spring breakers become super-spreaders? (Politico)
• The Real Lesson of the College Closures (Saahil Desai, The Atlantic)
• To Fight Coronavirus, Colleges Sent Students Home. Now Will They Refund Tuition? (Melissa Korn and Douglas Belkin, Wall St. Journal)
• The Covid-19 Crisis Is Widening the Gap Between Secure and Insecure Instructors (Megan Zahneis, Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Moody's lowers higher ed outlook to negative amid coronavirus crisis (Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Education Dive)
• What Is a College Education in the Time of Coronavirus? (NY Times Opinion)
• Community Colleges and the Coronavirus (Madeline St. Amour, Inside Higher Education)
• California AG sues Betsy DeVos for overturning Obama-era rule aimed at for-profit colleges (Aarthi Swaminathan, Yahoo Finance)
• Coronavirus and Admissions Fears (Scott Jaschick, Inside Higher Education)
• Already stretched universities now face huge endowment losses from market meltdown (PBS, Jon Marcus)
• Uncertain Fate for Support Staff (Lilah Burke, IHE)
• 41% of Recent Grads Work in Jobs Not Requiring a Degree (Inside Higher Education)

Subprime College Crash Continues Under the Radar

The subprime college crash continues for the seventh consecutive year with little attention from the government or media.

Subprime is a more appropriate name than for-profit, because several non-profit schools offer limited value at a high price. Campus closings, steep decreases in enrollment, low student loan repayment rates, low graduation rates, and low returns on investment are strong  indicators of "subprime."

University of Phoenix, now part of Apollo Global Management, continues to close campuses. In total, they have closed more than 450 campuses and learning sites. I expect UoPX to close half of their remaining campuses in the next 12-18 months.

Art Institutes are closing most of their campuses in 2018 after being taken over by Dream Center Education Holdings.  David Halperin has been covering the story in the Huffington Post, but it has received little attention.  Argosy University, another system of DCEH schools, is teaching out at least 14 campuses.




DeVry University will be closing more campuses after their parent company, Adtalem, dumped their brand and practically gave it away to Cogswell Education/Palm Ventures. They have already closed eight sites in 2018. Over the past few years, DeVry has closed 44 of their 90 learning sites.

National American University (NAUH) is in major trouble. Their stock price has been struggling at $1 a share, making it vulnerable to delisting. T. Rowe Price is keeping it propped up. NAUH recently mortgaged their real estate for $8M.



Zenith (ECMC) is completely out of subprime college ownership. The former Corinthian Colleges was propped up by the non-profit student loan company with help from the government.

Kaplan University is now operating as Purdue University Global. But the school remains a subprime effort despite fraudulent claims that it offers a "world-class education."

Ashford University (Bridgepoint) continues to profit amidst state and federal investigations, but enrollment is down as it pursues non-profit status.

Strayer is buying out Capella. The new company is still STRA, but it's known as Strategic Education.