Career Education gets attorneys general inquiries

NEW YORK — Shares of Schaumburg-based Career Education and Education Management fell Monday after the for-profit education companies said that they had received inquiries from 12 states related to their business practices.

The inquiries focus on practices related to recruiting students, graduate placement statistics, graduate certification and licensing, student lending and other matters, Career Education Corp. and Education Management said in regulatory filings.

Career Education said it got the questions on Friday. The company runs schools including Le Cordon Bleu North America and Colorado Technical University.

Pittsburgh-based Education Management, whose schools include Argosy University and Brown Mackie College, did not disclose when it received the inquiries in its filing on Friday.

For-profit education companies have faced public criticism in recent years over high drop-out rates, graduates’ poor job prospects and the high debt levels of its students.

Career Education and Education Management both said that they plan to cooperate with the states involved.

Career Education’s stock dropped 45 cents, or 7.4 percent, to $5.62 in afternoon trading. Through Friday’s close, the shares had risen about 77 percent over the past 12 months.

Shares of Education Management Corp. fell 83 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $8.84. Over the last year, the stock has more than doubled.