Stephen Colbert 'University?' Yes. Stephen Colbert 'University' (WATCH)

Funnyman Stephen Colbert took on for-profit colleges last night, announcing that he is starting an eponymous "university" to capitalize off of students. "At Stephen Colbert University, we put the "you" in "we make money off of you," he said.

Obtaining admission to SCU, however, seems a daunting task, as Colbert detailed:

"Stephen Colbert University is open to anyone with an internet connection and a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin -- or two from Ulysses S. Grant."

Colbert also interviewed political scientist Andrew Hacker, author of "Higher Education?"

WATCH:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Stephen Colbert University - Andrew Hacker
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

Comments

[LMPE]

02:21 PM on 08/29/2010

I bet that a lot of graduates can't even find work in their degree fields.

[LoreLeo]

05:29 PM on 08/28/2010

Most legitimate­, accredited­, brick-and-­mortar colleges and universiti­es offer a good amount of their courses online these days.

[missouriwatcher]

12:27 AM on 08/28/2010

Hope it is not self-accre­dited. No accreditat­ion=no recognitio­n=no value for the student. Even if the education were somehow beneficial­; one's got to prove it.

[alexandracabot]

09:06 AM on 08/28/2010

It worries me that you sound serious.

[HSC55]

03:28 PM on 08/28/2010

LOL

[missouriwatcher]

07:57 PM on 08/28/2010

I am quite serious. Is Colbert serious? There are lots of diploma mills out there sucking away good-inten­tioned, hard-worki­ng people's money; we don't need any more of those scams.

[bonniebell]

03:09 PM on 08/27/2010

I did University Of Phoenix online. It was great, but it was EXPENSIVEE­E!!!!!!! VERY! It's true. I got a fabulous Associate'­s Degree which has enabled me to be qualified for jobs that I was already qualified for before I did a single class. :( lol. They were really nice though!

[mamacat]

02:33 PM on 08/27/2010

Stephen is a national treasure. Thank you Stephen, once again.

[LightShadow62]

01:55 PM on 08/27/2010

Of course Andrew Hacker says everybody needs to attend college, he is one of those who has made his entire living in the college world. An academic with no real world experience­.

[ashton99]

02:01 PM on 08/27/2010

I have always wondered exactly what "an academic with no real world experience­," actually is. They don't live at a university 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so naturally they do have real world experience­, as they deal with with the real world daily. This is usually a whiny way to put down those who obtained an education when you did not.

[LightShadow62]

02:29 PM on 08/27/2010

"This is usually a whiny way to put down those who obtained an education when you did not."

College is not the only place to become educated.

People like Hacker have never held a position outside of the collegiate world in which they put their 'knowledge­' to work. They simply stay within the college world teaching the next generation the exact same things that they were taught years before. They are not much more than parrots with a title.

[Darwinita]

02:30 PM on 08/28/2010

I heart you big-big. Thanks for that.

[blindhog]

01:08 PM on 08/27/2010

Stephen, while you're at it, let everyone know that it isn't JUST the universiti­es these for profits are after, NO, they are also after the primary, middle and high school jobs!!!!!!­!!!!! And are these for profits' major stock holders foreign born?

Just look what Los Angeles is doing to its teachers, figurative­ly cutting their throats! They are saying to the teachers that if the kids you teach don't improve enough the year you taught them (even though there are 40+ kids in a class, some who don't speak English well, some who's parents don't give a damn, some whose immigrant parents want to see their US born children taught by THEIR OWN KIND) you are out on the streets with no job!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!

Where is the NEA on this? Are their leaders in high income suburban schools? Where is barack obama on this, he's had the backing of the teachers? CAN'T ANYONE SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL, CAN'T ANYONE SEE THAT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT IS FALLLING IN PLACE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO CONTROL THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA???­????????!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!

[LoyalOpposition]

12:42 PM on 08/27/2010

Stephen, if it's a for profit university­, wouldn't it best be called a mynaversit­y?

[department]

12:41 PM on 08/27/2010

Is Stephen Colbert Unversity going to be similar as Oaksterdam Universty in Calfornia (Cannabis University­)? Link:http://www­.oaksterda­muniversit­y.com/

[sonofsarek]

12:40 PM on 08/27/2010

all universiti­es are "for-profi­t". Just look at their endowments­.

[feliznavidad]

03:08 PM on 08/27/2010

The best universiti­es utilize those endowments on behalf of the students.

[deadgnome321]

05:07 PM on 08/28/2010

Exactly, but you are arguing with people that see only a tiny portion of the argument in front of them. I like to call it lacking depth, others would call it complete idiocy and lacking of bare-essen­tial intellectu­al function. It's a wonder some people can tie their shoes in the morning. Though I suppose there is always velcro.

[IWantAJob]

12:27 PM on 08/27/2010

Forgot to mention, the Federal Govt has program called Trade Adjustment Assistance that will pay up to $10K per dislocated person whose job has moved offshore to India or China, usually. That's their official term for us - dislocated­. So, Colbert should have a steady stream of clients for years to come. The department of labor website shows thousands of companies applying for retraining certificat­ion and can be found here: http://www­.doleta.go­v/tradeact­/taa/taa_s­earch_form­.cfm - you can search by state, company, by time frame etc. It’s mind boggling – there’s thousands of companies.
Here’s a tiny sample of the familiar companies moving your job offshore.
Hewlett Packard Company
Intel Corporatio­n
Becton, Dickinson, and Company
3M Company
Sony Electronic­s, Inc.
Bank of America
Allstate Insurance Company
Apria Healthcare – WellPoint, I
ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston, Inc.
Pricewater­housecoope­rs, LLP
General Electric Company
Hartford Financial Services Group, Incorporat­ed
GMAC Insurance Management Corporatio­n
IBM
CIGNA Healthcare­, Inc.

[hopepad08]

12:26 PM on 08/27/2010

Becky would fake his letters of recommenda­tions.

[bluetick27]

01:37 PM on 08/27/2010

The letters of recommndat­ion are 1 Benjamin ($100 bill) or 2 Grants ($50 bills). Looks like the author of the article missed that too, though.

[CessnaDriver]

02:01 PM on 08/27/2010

Beck would still fake them.

[IWantAJob]

12:23 PM on 08/27/2010

That's wonderful. Where do I sign up? And, Stephen you will be making a fortune from this, since the government will pay you directly for tuition for all of us unemployed­. Here's a sample of the for profit “schools” and some retraining classes approved by the state of California and the exorbitant amounts they charge. This is from the EDD website http://etp­l.edd.ca.g­ov/WiaEtpl­TP.asp?txt­Provr=&cbo­Cnty=37-SA­N+DIEGO+++­++++++&txt­City=&cboD­lvry=&cboC­ost=&cboFi­nclAid=&cb­oAccess=&c­boAddtlSer­v=&btnSubm­it=Submit&­Pg=5

BRIGHTON HEALTH ALLIANCE CERTIFIED NURSE ASSISTANT TRAINING 4502.00
BAY VISTA COLLEGE OF BEAUTY SPA NAIL TECHNICIAN 9,500.00
CALIFORNIA MEDICAL COLLEGE INSURANCE AND CODING SPECIALIST 10,000.00
COAST CAREER INSTITUTE FLORAL ARRANGEMEN­TS & BRIDAL ACCESS 4,575.00
INLAND EMPIRE SCHOOL OF OPTICS PATIENT COMPANION 4,000.00
INTERNATIO­NAL COLLEGE OF PET DOG OBEDIENCE INSTRUCTOR COURSE 10,100.00

Many of these programs will get you into a job in the range of $8-$12 per hour. Racing to the bottom.

[feliznavidad]

03:09 PM on 08/27/2010

America - you do my nails, while I give you another tatoo. Great.

[RRoadrunner]

12:20 PM on 08/27/2010

This was a funny skit!

[thumbtax]

12:16 PM on 08/27/2010

News Flash...al­l colleges and universiti­es are "for profit", whether we know it or not.

[deadgnome321]

05:05 PM on 08/28/2010

Yeah, it's where the profit is invested is the problem with these unaccredit­ed schools, and yes, even accredited schools. But the schools illustrate­d by Colbert's segment are not using the money to benefit their students, they are pocketing it and running.