Md. Culinary School Will Merge With Va. School

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A private school in Baltimore that teaches cooking skills and hospitality management will merge with a Virginia-based institution, a move the school hopes will end questions over whether it can keep its accreditation.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Baltimore International College will announce Monday it will merge with Falls Church-based Stratford University. Baltimore International College had been threatened with losing its accreditation at the end of August. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which oversees the school's accreditation, said the school had failed to address concerns first raised in a 2007 review including a lack of published guidelines for faculty members and an underdeveloped system for measuring educational results.

Stratford would take over control of the school beginning Jan. 1 if the merger goes through.

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