René A. Drouin is president and chief executive of the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHHEAF) Network, a nonprofit entity that provides higher education loans for New Hampshire students. [1] [2]
Higher education is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education. Often delivered at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, conservatories, and institutes of technology, higher education is also available through certain college-level institutions, including vocational schools, trade schools, and other career colleges that award academic degrees or professional certifications. Tertiary education at non-degree level is sometimes referred to as further education or continuing education as distinct from higher education. The right of access to higher education is mentioned in a number of international human rights instruments. The UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 declares, in Article 13, that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education". In Europe, Article 2 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education.
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations etc. The recipient incurs a debt, and is usually liable to pay interest on that debt until it is repaid, and also to repay the principal amount borrowed.
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. New Hampshire is the 5th smallest by area and the 10th least populous of the 50 states. Concord is the state capital, while Manchester is the largest city in the state. It has no general sales tax, nor is personal income taxed at either the state or local level. The New Hampshire primary is the first primary in the U.S. presidential election cycle. Its license plates carry the state motto, "Live Free or Die". The state's nickname, "The Granite State", refers to its extensive granite formations and quarries.
Drouin holds bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration, as well as a law degree received from Lasalle University in 1996. He joined the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation Network in 1978 and was named to the position of president and CEO in 1997. [3]
Thomas James Kirk II operated several fraudulent higher education organizations, including LaSalle University in Mandeville, Louisiana, the University of San Gabriel Valley, and Bienville University. Kirk's "LaSalle University" was shut down in 1996 following a raid by the FBI. Kirk was indicted for tax fraud in 1996 and, after a plea agreement, was sentenced to five years in U.S. federal prison. Kirk later died in January 2008. He was the father of TJ Kirk.
In 2004, Drouin was the focus of some criticism over his educational credentials. It was reported that his bachelor's degree was from Kensington University, an unaccredited school, and that his law degree was not from La Salle University in Philadelphia, but rather from a Louisiana diploma mill. Drouin answered the criticism by saying that he was unaware that the institutions were not legitimate and that the degrees had not aided his career. [4]
Kensington University was an unaccredited distance education institution that was based at different times in Hawaii and California. Kensington University was eventually shut down by state authorities in both states.
Higher education accreditation in the United States is a peer review process coordinated by accreditation commissions and member institutions. It was first undertaken in the late 19th century by cooperating educational institutions.
La Salle University is a private, Roman Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The university offers traditional, online, and hybrid courses and programs. The university is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
