For-Profit College Graduation Rate: 22 Percent

For-profit colleges graduated an average of 22 percent of their students in 2008, according to a new report from Education Trust.

That average palls in comparison to bachelor's-seeking graduation rates at public and private non-profit colleges and universities for the same year, which averaged 55 percent and 65 percent, respectively.

The report, titled "Supbrime Opportunity" (PDF) also reveals that for-profit colleges increased their enrollment by 236 percent from 1998 to 2009.

The median debt of for-profit college graduates -- $31,190 -- far outpaces that of private non-profit college graduates, which stands at $17,040, and is more than triple the median debt for those from public colleges, which is $7,960.

The University of Phoenix had one of the lower graduation rates at five percent, though the school said in a statement that when all of its students are accounted for -- not just those in federal data -- its graduation rate for bachelor's degree seekers rises to 36 percent.

Yesterday, the Pew Research Center reported that college students borrowed 50 percent more than in 1996, due in large part to a surge in enrollment at for-profit colleges.

For-profit colleges have come under heavy criticism for a number of offenses, including deceptive recruiting practices and reliance on federal funds through Pell Grants. See which for-profit colleges receive the most Pell Grant funding here.

What do you think of this report's findings? Let us know in the comments section.

Comments

[BigTight33]

04:14 PM on 12/06/2010

Have you seen the ads the for profit colleges are running imploring Americans to stop the Government from deciding who can go to college ? They are trying to exploit the anti-Government/Obama sentiment to derail the U.S. Department of Education and Congress from cutting of the massive federal aid thatis received by students who are suckered into attending this fly-by-night institutions. As long as a person is eligible to receive federal financial aid, they will be admitted. Most of the people who go to this schools never graduate, end up owing thousands of dollars in student loans and default on those loans. The U.S. taxpayers are left holding the bag !

[socialjustice4achange]

12:53 PM on 12/09/2010

The ads placed by for-profits are probably the biggest source of their students who do not succeed. The ads are placed into a set of TV slots that can be purchased cheaply. They do not run these ads at the super-bowl. And this leads them to reach out to a new student population that is busily crowding itself into its sofas and feels guilty about doing so. It's a poor outreach strategy an I heard, within the past few days, that it is a strategy that is being abandoned.
Once past the ad campaigns, though, for-profits have a higher completion rate than non-profits, particularly at the associates' level. And the profit structure builds in room for administrative qquality control of courses and faculty. Each for-profit is different. Many target persons who are already employed and seek higher level degrees to try for advancement. By targeting employed persons with distance ed, they get a student body that has the wherewithal to pay back loans.

[johnnyinqueens]

11:09 PM on 11/29/2010

Seriously does anyone consider a University of Phoenix degree legitimate? If I come across a resume from there I toss it out right away.

[brettv]

02:05 AM on 11/29/2010

And there aren't bills in congress combatting this problem because?

[Epilef2000]

07:13 PM on 11/28/2010

These schools over charge their students who are mostly low and middle class people working full time.

But this is not the only failure of the Department of Education, there are many schools out there that are NOT accredited. I had a friend, who got federal school loans, got a debt of $25,000 then when she finished her associates degree and applied for then nursing program in a state school, they told her the classes she took were not accredited and she would have to start all over again.

Why are we taxpayers subsidizing schools that are not accredited? I also started going to online school for my MBA and I was discussing with my undergraduate professors which school i should attend---most if not all had been "accredited." To my surprise, some of these accreditations are legal, but mean nothing.. so even if a school is supposedly accredited, it will not ensure your degree will count,. Truly a failure.

[socialjustice4achange]

12:56 PM on 12/09/2010

Watch that the accreditation is from one of the regional accreditation agencies. The North Central Association oof the Higher Learning Commission is the most stringent of accreditors in the midwest. But even it has seen its share of corruption.

[SangZe]

04:53 PM on 11/28/2010

Americans are such fools.

[Siebenstein]

06:30 AM on 11/28/2010

enslave home owners by selling underwater-mortgages; enslave students by selling underwater-loans.

[Siebenstein]

06:21 AM on 11/28/2010

For -Proft-Rip-Off Colleges exist, because the US DoE does nothing to repair its completely broken, e.f.d up education system.

[Howard53545]

05:39 AM on 11/27/2010

So if students do not graduate, do not blame the school, blame the lazy students who do not do their work.

[Siebenstein]

06:22 AM on 11/28/2010

Sorry, but you have no clue what you are talking about.

[MJVs Common Sense]

11:07 PM on 11/26/2010

Before everyone goes off the deep end about this, consider the fact that most of the large established For-Profit schools are not only incredibly ethical, but incredibly dedicated to their students. NAUH, DeVry, Capella, et al. are all good places for people to go if they don't have any other options.

Is it too expensive? Yes, but that is an issue that can be addressed without throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Let's talk about limiting federal funds to those schools with a track record of success, NOT just blanket statements trying to equate all for-profit schools with each-other.

Consider for a moment, the difference between Harvard (a non-profit) and Los Angeles Community College (also a non-profit). Is there a difference? I think everyone rational enough for formulate a response is going to respond with an emphatic yes. There is a HUGE difference.

Why shouldn't we make the same distinctions between National American University (one of the first and most successful for-profit and online universities) and American Intercontinental University (something I just googled)? Why not lay the smack down on the University of Phoenix for failing miserably (5% graduation rate!), but leave the successful ones alone?

The answer? because people are enjoying the sensationalism.

Pretty sad,

Common Sense

[Siebenstein]

06:23 AM on 11/28/2010

NAUH, DeVry, Capella, et al. are all good places

No, definitely not. They are not respected in most areas of study, business might be the only one.

[jeffrey678]

09:46 PM on 11/26/2010

Community college graduation rates are 25% but charge less money and give more value. I think if colleges received a graduation rate bonus based on graduation rates it might help.

[jeffrey678]

09:47 PM on 11/26/2010

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2010/0426/Raise-the-community-college-graduation-rate

[MJVs Common Sense]

10:52 PM on 11/26/2010

They do receive a bonus for increasing graduation rates, it's called "rankings"

[Siebenstein]

06:24 AM on 11/28/2010

Those rankings are meaningless. Its like ranking sausages.

[ItsBarranti]

02:52 PM on 11/26/2010

The most insidious thing about these for profits is that they're accepted on US Military bases. Active Duty Soldiers get a certain amount of Tuition Assistance. If they take Community College courses, the TA pays a fixed amount for part or all of whatever's charged.

These For-Profits charge the maximum Tuition Assistance offered by the Armed Forces, instead of the going local rates. Once they've done that, they provide nothing to the students, as their credits don't often transfer. Often times, military students have to drop out due to deployments, PCS's and other problems, and when they do that, non-profits and public schools return their money. For-Profit's don't.

[ElenaMorinah]

02:01 PM on 11/26/2010

what do they consider a "for profit" college to be. clearly scholls like harvard and stanford are charging profitable tuition rates and im sure they have higher than 22% graduation rates

[ItsBarranti]

02:44 PM on 11/26/2010

They are non-profit because all of their funding goes into their school in the form of infrastructure, salaries, amenities, and most importantly, Research.

For Profit schools make a profit that goes into the pockets of the owners. They do no research and they're often online-only so they have no infrastructure to maintain or amenities to provide.

They're also often not accredited and give degrees based on life experience. Write up an essay detailing your life for 60 semester hours! 90 if it's really good!

In other words, they're often a rip off of people who don't know any better.

[MJVs Common Sense]

10:53 PM on 11/26/2010

Thats a diploma mill, there is a huge difference between a for profit school and a diploma mill. Sensationalism like that isn't helpful.

[MJVs Common Sense]

10:55 PM on 11/26/2010

The first two paragraphs of "ItsBarranti"s response pretty much sum up, the difference.

[only livin boy in NY]

12:32 PM on 11/26/2010

and u all wondered where all the teabaggers were comin from

[Kenyatta J Yamel]

11:19 AM on 11/26/2010

low grad rates, high tuition, and high profits while the students are the losers.

[only livin boy in NY]

12:33 PM on 11/26/2010

and taxpayers

[ClareP]

01:24 PM on 11/26/2010

Yes. Federal aid needs to be limited to legit colleges and universities-- and that means public and not-for-profit private institutions only.

[Lohikaarme]

05:49 AM on 11/26/2010

That type of graduation rate is not uncommon in (public) state regional universities. In Indiana for example the regional campuses of Purdue University such as IPFW have had a graduation rate below 25% for the last 20 years. The same type of rates can be found in regional campuses in other states.

[ClareP]

01:30 PM on 11/26/2010

With a major difference being that regional campuses of state universities charge a much much lower tuition and have regular application processes.  They draw primarily from the ranks of those who are not very well qualified for college, so success rates are low, but at least they don't put these people in hock for the rest of their life as the price of making an attempt at a college degree.

For profit colleges are preying on the low education low intelligence student, encouraging them to think they can be assured of a well-paying job, encouraging them to take out huge loans to pay for the chance, and then letting them fail (or simply knowing that large percentages of them have pretty much no chance at succeeding in the first place). They also try to pull them away from regional state universities by selling them on the idea that they can graduate in less time-- which as a rule is not true.

Those who cant get into a regular college can be well served by community colleges and low end state schools. They're fools to go for-profit.