Brown Mackie College

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Brown Mackie College

Brown Mackie College-Birmingham was the local campus of a nationwide system of for-profit colleges offering degrees and academic certificates in education, information technology, health sciences and legal studies. At its peak, the system had as many as twenty-eight locations with more than 17,000 students. After settling a lawsuit brought by several state's attorneys general, the company announced in 2016 that it would stop enrolling new students and ultimately close all locations.

The college was founded in 1938 by Perry Brown and A. B. Mackie, both former instructors at the Kansas Wesleyan School of Business in Salina, Kansas. It became licensed by the Kansas Board of Regents to grant associate's degrees in 1986. American Education Centers acquired the college and merged it with several others under the Brown Mackie name in 1995. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Education Management Corporation (EDMC) acquired AEC's 18 Brown Mackie campuses in June 2003 and continued to expand the system. EDMC was, in turn, acquired by Goldman Sachs and other partners in 2006, and soon reorganized as a private company, enrolling thousands of on-line students under a new federal policy on government-backed student loans. It returned as a public company in 2009.

Brown Mackie's 35,000 square-foot Birmingham campus opened in the former Vulcan Life building at 105 Vulcan Road in 2010, and its inaugural class of students started in April 2011. The school was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of Chicago, Illinois and licensed by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education. In addition, its associate's program in occupational therapy was accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. The Birmingham campus operated as a branch of the Salina, Kansas, campus for accreditation purposes.

In early 2015 EDMC agreed to a settlement with several states' attorneys general regarding alleged fraud in its student recruitment and career placement. The company agreed to forgive more than $100 million in student loan debt held by more than 80,000 former students. In June of that year it was announced that all Brown Mackie College locations would stop enrolling new students and "wind down" operations. Brown Mackie College-Birmingham closed on September 29, 2017.

Programs

  • Bachelor of Science, Business Administration
  • Bachelor of Science, Health Care Management
  • Bachelor of Science, Legal Studies
  • Associate of Applied Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant
  • Associate of Applied Science, Architectural Design & Drafting Technology
  • Associate of Science, Biomedical Equipment Technology
  • Associate of Science, Business Management
  • Associate of Science, Graphic Design
  • Associate of Science, Health Care Administration
  • Associate of Science, Information Technology
  • Associate of Science, Paralegal
  • Associate of Science, Business Administration
  • Associate of Science, Health Care Management
  • Associate of Science, Veterinary Techonology
  • Diploma, Dental Assistant
  • Diploma, General Business
  • Diploma, Medical Assistant
  • Diploma, Medical Insurance Specialist

External links