Ashford University announced approximately 450 layoffs Monday morning. A majority of the layoffs were from San Diego, according to a school spokesperson Shari Rodriguez.
According to Rodriguez employees were told to come in early when they were shown a video and offered a two-week severance package.
Rodriguez says it is part of a company-wide reorganization.
According to an interview given to NBC 7 San Diego by a laid off employee, the workers were called into a meeting on Friday and had no idea what the meeting was about. A video was played for them and within 30 seconds, the workers at the meeting were informed that they were being terminated.
According to another employee that spoke with NBC 7 San Diego, there were about 100 people in the room when a human resource representative told them their positions no longer existed.
Employees expressed their shock of the layoffs.
"Nobody expected it, it was a shock to everyone," said a former employee in her 20s. "People were crying, people who have families, people who had just bought cars because they thought they had a stable job no longer have any of that."
About a dozen former employees gathered at a Pacific Beach bar after they were told the news.
All laid off employees had worked for Ashford for less than six months and worked primarily in the recruitment area. An administrative employee told NBC 7 San Diego that many of those laid off were admissions counselors who dealt primarily with the students.
A statement from Ashford University said the following:
"Ashford University is committed to providing its students with the best opportunity to succeed, and, to that end; a reorganization of Ashford's student-facing staff has been implemented with the goal of improving student retention and academic success. As a result, 400 Ashford employees have been reassigned to roles that will support this new process and, regrettably, approximately 450 Ashford Admissions positions in San Diego and Denver have been eliminated."
Ashford University is a private, for-profit university located in Clinton, Iowa. It is the largest educational holding of Bridgepoint Education Although the university is regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, their accreditation status has come under scrutiny after a rejected attempt to become accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and demands from HLC for additional information.
The university offers Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's degrees in more than 50 degree programs on campus and online. The majority of the student population is enrolled in online courses. The campus has experienced growth in recent years.
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