Intel clamps down on workforce education

The firm yesterday said it wants to vet universities more closely and will stop paying for courses at places it doesn't like, The Oregonian reports. Intel employs 16000 Oregonians.

Private, for-profit colleges are off the chipmaker's approved list. A spokesman said the firm wasn't seeing “the preferred outcomes from the enrollment of Intel employees at certain for profit-schools, such as the University of Phoenix.”

The University of Phoenix is run by the Apollo Group, which was recently subject to an investigation into financial irregularities which resulted in the departure of its chief financial officer.

Alan Fisher, Intel's extended education manager told The Oregonian: "This really is not in anyway a reflection on our perception of the quality of the for-profit education sector. It's a reflection of the high standards Intel has." Which surely amounts to the same thing.

"The costs are just exorbitant in some cases," he added. µ