If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
A trade association of for-profits college could work to advantage those honest member schools who actually are helping students to learn and train for careers. But APSCU, instead, appears to subscribe to the quick buck ethos of its biggest, wealthiest, most powerful members.
A Wells Fargo stock analyst, who boosts for-profit colleges while frequently overlooking their abuses, lays the blame for one particularly predatory college's high failure rate at the feet of low-income students, or, as he calls them, "subprime" students.
I have spent nearly my entire career working to expand access to quality higher education to more Americans. I would like nothing more than to tap the incredible power of the market to address the nation's education challenges. But without safeguards, it will go wrong, again, in a big way.
This administration has clear authority -- statutory authority and moral authority -- to implement effective regulations to curb abusive practices by for-profit colleges. You owe it to our citizens to do so promptly.
Just as markets over-built housing, mispriced mortgages and bid up prices beyond the real financial capacity of homebuyers, America's colleges and universities have over-expanded and over-priced their product. We are getting an education bubble with dynamics similar to the late housing bubble. As more and more students find themselves with debts that exceed the salaries offered by the current job market, colleges have expanded beyond the capacity of their markets. Some kind of shakeout is coming. The question is: what kind. Clearly, our society cannot afford the current rate of expansion of higher education costs. We've reached the limits of piling these expenses onto students. But as resources become more scarce, as the consequences of over-expansion hit, the social risk is that the shoe will pinch even more intensely in the wrong places.
In a field marked by ripoffs of students and taxpayers, Corinthian, which operates under the school names Everest, Heald, and Wyotech, has one of the worst records of all.
Orman's decision to join the University of Phoenix faculty and thus give her seal of approval to the institution does a disservice to Americans across the country who count on her for unvarnished and useful financial advice.
The gainful employment rule is critical to protecting the federal investment in our students and providing opportunities for a wide range of Americans to build careers. And, fortunately, there is a clear path to fixing the rule so it will pass muster in the courts.
The owners of America's big for-profit colleges have developed a big bag of tricks to keep tens of billions of federal dollars flowing their way, regardless of the bad consequences for students and taxpayers. Every time we think we've seen it all, a new brazen tactic emerges.
Increasing higher education attainment for low-income students should close socio-economic disparities. But, a deeper examination of the nation's higher education system reveals that many low-income students with the greatest needs often receive an education that does not empower them economically, politically, and socially.
Daniels should tell the APSCU members that they should curb their arrogant lobbying campaign, improve their programs, and halt their misconduct.
Troops and vets, as well as other potential students, are getting the message that these schools may be hazardous to their futures; enrollment is down, and the industry is in a tailspin.
Instead of taking this opportunity to reform, the industry's big players appear to be digging in, and continuing to use their revenues -- about 86 percent of which come from taxpayers -- to engage in lobbying and propaganda aimed at convincing the public that everything is fine.
What the rest of us should worry about is the prospect of for-profit college executives, who have gotten rich by peddling a toxic mix of deceptive recruiting, low-quality programs, and sky-high prices, taking the helm of tax-exempt charities that are supposed to serve the public interest.
Foxx, who has staunchly defended the for-profit college industry despite its blatant record of abusing students and ripping off taxpayers, apparently didn't mention in her remarks that she is one of Congress's biggest recipients of campaign cash from that industry.
As Massachusetts Attorney General Probes Vanished For-Profit College, Senators Call for Broad Review
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley says she's expanded her investigation of whether for-profit colleges have deceived students in her state about their prices, graduation rates and job placement records.
