This guy at my college fair stated that I should never attend a for-profit institution without explaining why…
They predate students with false claims of future employment and encourage loan-taking, thus profiting off the federal loan system knowing full well that they’re not actually helping you find future employment. They’ve been investigated, lost some court cases, then were more or less let off the hook by Betsy DeVos, a charter school fanatic and free market fundamentalist.
On the other hand, they want your money and have a mandate to get as much of it as they can or face potential lawsuits from their shareholders.
Not all for profit institutions are necessarily bad, BUT the industry has a very poor track record regarding federally funded programs. Way too many students obtain the loans with the encouragement and guidance of the for-profit institution and way too many of these students never graduate, BUT they still end up owing the borrowed monies that the school has already taken to their company bank. Remember, these are not “non-profit” institutions. They get to keep the taxpayers’ money while the former students struggle with the debt. This problem is too common around military bases as they prey on our service personnel and their families. See https://abound.college/finishcollege/advice/how-for-profit-schools-scam-veterans-wes-creel/
Have have good friends from the military who have experienced these problems. I was relieved to find out that it was reaching some news sources.
Check out this National Education Association (NEA) article @ http://neatoday.org/2018/06/01/for-profit-colleges-fraud/
Don’t believe everything some sales rep tells you. Always ask yourself, "What’s in it for him?
In theory, for-profit should not necessarily mean bad (after all, many for-profit businesses offer useful products and services without being shady or scammy). However, in practice, for-profit colleges have produced a large percentage of the bad actors in terms of shady or scammy marketing and low quality programs that fail to help graduates find employment that will help them pay off their student loans.
Although a few programs at non-profit colleges failed the gainful employment rule (which DeVos wants to eliminate), 98% of the programs that failed the gainful employment rule were at for-profit colleges.
https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/over-800-programs-fail-education-dept-s-gainful-employment-rule/116378
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Here-Are-the-Programs-That/238851
Elimination of the gainful employment rule eliminates the questions that are being asked of the colleges that may be offering programs of dubious value to students who may use federal financial aid.
In addition to the points above, if you decide you are unhappy at a for-profit, your credits transferring to a new institution (even community college) are unlikely. Worst case scenario, the college closes before you get your degree. Then you’re left without a degree and in debt.
The drop out rates are extremely high as well as the overall educational quality being poor, I think the last number I saw suggested an upwards of 70% dropping out before a degree. I’d rather go to a school that kept 70% of enrolled students, not lose them.
Generally, employers don’t respect degrees from for-profit universities due to their poor reputation.
Notwithstanding all the negatives mentioned above, a counter-argument is that for-profit colleges serve communities that tend to be under-served by traditional non-profit institutions, by reaching out with more branches and on-line services. I have very little experience with them except for short training classes payed for by my employer. For that purpose, they may do a reasonably good job. For a 4 year liberal arts or pre-professional college experience, I don’t know why many students would choose a for-profit college if they have access to affordable non-profit alternatives with better reputations.
There is one intriguing for profit venture (funded by Benchmark Capital and even retains brilliant faculty) is Minerva. MInerva is incredibly selective and admitted only 2% of applicants and yielded 57%. The school isn’t cheap, but keeps prices down because it doesn’t fund research. The school is marketed as four years of global immersion. I believe students start off at their US campus in San Francisco, but spend their other 7 semesters abroad (Buenos Aires, Berlin, Taipei, London, Seoul, and Hyderbad).
Others have pointed out the risks of for-profits. There probably is some risk here, but this one is definitely cutting edge. One of mine was recruited by this university. At the end of the day, he went traditional and didn’t even apply there, but it was interesting enough to give it a look.
Probably due to aggressive marketing to students who are not well informed of the options. Remember, many high school students and graduates come from backgrounds where no one went to college beyond a few courses at the community college or technical school, and the high school mostly sent graduates to similar destinations or work. Also, in some states, the in-state public community colleges and universities are relatively expensive, putting up financial barriers in front of many students.
As long as they’re fully accredited, I don’t see anything wrong with them at all. In fact, GCU charges $15,000 a year in tuition. That’s a far cry from TCU, that charges $50,000. Even after using the NPC, based on income, which is only average, I still need to pay $20,000 a year, and that includes federal student loans. “Profit” seems to be the new boogey-man buzz word of the 21st century. It’s all ignorance. Take an economics class for goodness sake!
Grand Canyon University is now a non-profit. It was a for-profit from 2004 to 2018.
Oops, I stand corrected on MInerva. It is a non-profit undergraduate program. The Minerva Project is a for-profit company which owns the technology and intellectual property associated with the Minerva Schools.
And then there was Parsons College in Iowa which declared bankruptcy in 1973. It had a great run, but declared bankruptcy in 1973.
I was offered a job as an EE instructor at a for-profit college. That by itself should disqualify the entire industry. I have a BS and was a mediocre student. I turned it down because I was unqualified.
They found a guy with an ET degree, was a worse student, and did not understand even the simplest circuitry. I can’t believe they were charging money for people to get his guidance.
@marvin100 ALL colleges encourage loan-taking lol. It’s not just for-profit colleges.