When Education is Not Freedom...

You've seen the billboards and commercials everywhere. Smiling, studious young people achieving their dreams through organizations like University of Phoenix and DeVry University. The commercials are compelling....inspiring. Suddenly, higher education seems possible! Oh, yes, these companies are doing a great job marketing their schools to nontraditional students across the nation and pulling in hundreds of thousands of hopeful adults every year. But at the same time, thousands are finding themselves trapped in debt and dead ends as the truth about these for-profit schools comes to light....a little too late.

Janet invited several people over on Saturday night to watch a PBS Frontline documentary called "College, Inc." that focused on digging deeper into for-profit higher education, like Grand Canyon University, Capella University, Argosy Universtiy, and the ones mentioned above. What was exposed is very disturbing, especially for the lower-income, minority population that this industry is targeting. Traditional universities are usually not-for-profit organizations that rely on alumni donations for capital, whereas these for-profit colleges rely on investors. Because of that, their focus seems to be on making as much money as possible and expanding their empires rather than on providing quality education for their students.

Basically, what these for-profit schools are doing are first of all targeting lower-income people who will most likely have to rely almost fully on federal financial aid and then charging exorbitant tuition rates. However, many times these students end up dropping out or unable to find jobs upon graduating which results in them defaulting on their student loans. The student's life is ruined, taxpayers are saddled with their debt, and the for-profit enjoys billions of dollars in profit.

These for-profits are known to employ high-pressure enrollment tactics and often give students false or misleading information, tricking them into signing loan applications when they think they are applying for grants or just forms expressing an interest in finanical aid. Often these recruiters tell students that their credits can transfer to other schools (which they can't) or that they will assist in job placement (which they don't). Sometimes the training that is provided in these for-profit schools is so sub-par that companies and employers don't even recognize it. The documentary gave an example of three girls who had attended some nursing institute but never set foot in an actual hospital for their clinical rotations. They did a pediatric rotation in a daycare, for example. Because they had no actual hospital experience, they were unable to get jobs with their nursing licenses and found themselves $13,000 or more in debt. (For a program that would have cost only $2500 at a local community college).

Many people are drawn to these programs because of the flexibility of online classes and the relaxed enrollment policies. Students who may not qualify for traditional universities can be accepted into these schools and still have the hope of receiving a higher education. There are a lot of ingenius ideas that for-profit schools have developed which perhaps should be considered by more traditional universities as our world and society continues to change and evolve. The problem is that the for-profits are more focused on profit than education. As long as they get their money, they aren't concerned about whether their students can take that diploma and actually go get a job that enables them to pay back their loans. That's no longer their concern. They've pocketed the tuition and have moved on into sucking more students in. It's heartbreaking for the students who worked so hard to achieve a certificate or degree and were willing to place themselves in debt because they had the hope of a good-paying job in the future.

Some people may blame the students for not doing their homework before signing up for these programs. However, you have to remember that many lower-income, minority folks may be first time college students. The college application and financial aid process is very tricky, even for those who have plenty of support to guide them. It is easy for these for-profits to prey on this demographic because they are easily misled. These for-profits could care less if the students they enroll are prepared or qualified for college-level work. They enroll many students who end up dropping out because they just aren't able to handle college courses...yet those students are still responsible for the debt they incur. So they find themselves unable to get a job, unable to go to another school, and thousands of dollars in debt. Some have compared it to the subprime housing lending crisis. Knowing that these students may not have the capacity to pay back the loans, knowing that they may not have ability to benefit from this education, they are given financial loans anyway.

This is just one more way people have figured out how to exploit and profit off the poor. Not that it is only low-income people who are being destroyed by this, but they do make a prime target for these schools. We've really got to get busy to counteract the powerful and convincing marketing strategies being used by these for-profits. We've got to be active in bringing this to the Department of Education and Congress in hopes that they will first of all take a look at the accreditation standards for the federal aid program and also possibly regulate the enrollment qualifications for these schools. Most of all, we have got to educate students, especially those who may be first-time college hopefuls. We've got to prepare them for college, first of all, then we need to educate them about the process. We need to make sure they know their options and look at the community college route (where they can receive good training and transferrable credits at a fraction of the cost). We need to work on financial literacy and make sure they understand the financial aid and student loan process. We can't allow them to be drawn into the traps that these for-profit schools are setting for them!

I've heard several radio commercials for these type of schools on local hip-hop radio stations that are prominently targeted to the black and Hispanic community. I've heard well-known local dee-jays promoting these schools. I have really considered sending them some of the articles and research that expose these schools because I feel that they are promoting something that is seriously hurting thier own people and own community. This is a serious issue that we need to educate others about, especially those who may be considering one of these programs.

Education is supposed to be a passport to freedom...not a means to capitalize on uncontrolled greed. Let's be a voice against these fraudulent for-profit schools and their unscrupulous tactics! Let's protect both the institution of education as well as the dreams of people who hope to benefit from it.

Links to articles about this topic...please read!!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0911.burd.html

http://www.propublica.org/feature/at-u-of-phoenix-allegations-of-enrollment-abuses-persist-1103

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/10_19/b4177064219731.htm

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/11/03/pm-phoenix-one/

http://www.sfweekly.com/content/printversion/1689819

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=aqq.wwZ7wK1I

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB125755384448934953.html#articleTabs_panel_article%3D2