For-Profit Colleges Fights to Keep Students in the Dark

For-Profit College Group Fights To Keep Students In Dark On Debt

For-profit college representatives are fighting in federal court for the right to avoid telling students if they are likely to afford their debts after attending school.

In a court filing last week, a key industry trade group pushed back against the Department of Education's attempts to make for-profit colleges disclose statistics that would indicate whether students are likely to take on huge debts they cannot repay. Preliminary data released by the department earlier this year indicates that many of the for-profit programs would be cast in a negative light by making the disclosures, which would reveal that students are shouldering massive debt burdens and are often unable to repay student loans.

"The for-profits want the American people to just hand them over millions of dollars worth of federal financial aid, and we have no means to assess the return on that investment," said Jose Cruz, vice president for higher education policy at the Education Trust, a student advocacy group. "It is important for the students to have the information that will allow them to gauge whether or not it's a good investment for them."

The for-profit college association has mounted federal court challenges to nearly every new regulation the Obama administration has proposed regarding the industry. That includes rules to crack down on schools that make misleading promises to students in advertisements, and guidelines to prevent schools from handing out bonuses and raises to recruiters based on the number of students enrolled. The courts have upheld most parts of the administration's other regulations, aside from the "gainful employment" rules.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/2 ... 23215.html

We're from the "private sector" and we're here to help you. Just sign here. We can lie; we can misrepresent; we can take your hard-earned money under false pretenses... But since we're the "private sector" it's what's best....

Uh-Huh...

But why are we discriminating between for profit colleges and more traditional schools? Should pottery and English majors at CU also be informed that there are unlikely to find work to pay of their debts either?

Perhaps it's because, by law, public schools and universities have counselors to assist in career-planning, scholarships available, counseling on best return-on-investment of their education dollar....

And For-Profits are for-profit...period... "You don' need no steenkin' facts..."

We know that we can't expect the federal government not to loan money out that is unlikely to be paid back. If we could, then we, the taxpayers, wouldn't be on the hook for making good on the guarantees for Solyndra and over a trillion dollars worth of student loans. The federal government ought not to be in the business of guaranteeing any loans for any purposes. If the federal government got out of the education lending business entirely, then the people from whom the loan is being sought would be able to make the decision about lending the money based on the likelihood of being paid back and the issue would be moot. If the private college advanced the money and their student was unable to pay them back, the college would eventually fold for lack of funds. If they sought redress in the courts and their tactics were deceptive as alleged, then the courts would declare the contract invalid, the college would not be paid back and, again, they would have to close their doors.

All in all, what the article does is demonstrate why the federal government ought not to be involved in lending out public money for individual benefit to begin with. If the federal government is incapable of properly assessing the risk of loaning out the money before doing so they ought not to be lending it to anyone in the first place.

My degree in Information Systems is from a for-profit college, Westwood.

I had the benefit of a strong start in an amazing career before I ever attended school there, and actually ended up going there only because I could work a night job, and still work my class schedule around my work. It took four years to graduate (instead of three), but it got me through.

If it weren't for my odd schedule and life commitments, I would never have selected the school, nor would I ever, by any stretch of the imagination, tell anyone I meet that it was a good experience, or a good fiscal decision. But, I have a degree, and a great career. I have good friends, and good teachers who were dedicated to my success, even when the school wasn't.

Sure, they'll get a lot of money out of me over the next thirty years, but being able to work through college in a job that was extremely helpful from a job/career perspective put me in a place where I actually will be moving from an extremely secure, cushy job, to a different, more challenging but even more rewarding job next year.

I'm 26 years old, and I'll be in a salary bracket that most people don't enjoy until their mid 40's. I've been extremely lucky, but without Westwood, I would have had to give up a four-year head start in my field, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am now. I would have absolutely quit my job to finish my education if I were to have finished my schooling at CU-Denver, where I started.

I'm saying this because there are reasons out there that people end up in for-profit institutions, I'm a walking, breathing example. Unfortunately, however, I am one of very few. I've seen a great deal of my friends from the college fail to get a job in their field, accept under-employment, or just drop out after taking just enough classes to owe the school as much as a small boat. I think more regulation would be great, so that students (like I did) can enter into the agreement eyes-open.

Sometimes getting bent over is the best solution, just don't lie to me about it... and pass the lube.

Nobody said that For-Profits were "bad"... All they're asking for is for them to tell-the-truth and be honest about what the numbers are. If they have a problem with that, then it's probably because they have something to hide.

For Profit Schools need policing clearly, I especially love the nursing shool that has no accreditation so graduates find out no one will hire them even with the current nursing shortage. It would be awesome if kids did the research before applying but they often don't or have unrealistic expectations about income.

The for-profits simply argue --- "don't hold us to standard 'x' unless you'll hold non-profit institutions to that standard, as well" In fact, many for-profit
institutions are more forthcoming about educational and career results than their non-profit counterparts.

Here's the problem - liberal arts college can't stand the thought of quantifying their worth (salary surveys). They think they're more important
and more valuable than a dollar sign.

I'd say the market is already taking care of this issue. Marketing offices have long since sat up and taken notice of data from sources such as
payscale.com

---

and they're using that information. (take a look at Colorado School of Mines, for example).

Students and parents are (IMO) intelligent enough to differentiate the goose from the duck.

In general, the for-profit sector serves discerning adult learners - who know what they want from an education - and how they intend to get it.
(which is why enrollment has grown quickly over the last decade).

Would I recommend a for-profit institution? Not usually. Still - they have a place - and I'd just assume not use regulation to bully them out of existence.

Science Chic wrote: Students should more critically decide where to go based on what they want out of a degree and what kind of paying job they are likely to find on the other side. It's irresponsible to get loans for a $30K/year education if your starting salary is likely to be under $20K getting out

This is true of all schools, for all degrees... as BB suggested it's especially true of liberal arts degrees, or education degrees. Some jobs don't pay enough to justify for-profit education, that's for sure! Westwood also offered green- and fasion-design degrees... I was very worried for those students, and many of them now are making that $18.75 an hour working for a design firm pumping out drawings, and that's on the high side...