" … Today, so many universities automatically accept students, and coursework can be completed entirely online. During this transition, some schools have thrived, as have the students who have graduated from these schools. Other institutions, however, have gained bad reputations.
These colleges and universities have made news headlines. Some been coined “wastes of time and money,” and others have been called “pay for degree schools.” Is there any truth to these claims?" …
http://www.cheatsheet.com/personal-finance/why-these-3-colleges-have-bad-reputations.html/?ref=YF
I think the biggest problem with these institutions was that they admitted far too many students who had a very low likelihood of success.
Interestingly enough, some people might call that admirable in that they are extending opportunity to students who normally didn’t see much of it.
I wonder if this has any lessons for the future as we decide what US education will look like in the 21st century.
To save others the trouble of reading through this Clickbait headline, here are the schools identified:
- Everest College
- University of Phoenix
- Devry University
What a coincidence, the schools are all for-profit.
Because for-profit institutions primarily serve shareholders, not students, and the tactics they use to turn a buck are absolutely ruthless. Frontline did a piece called College, Inc. which delved into the sorts of strategies that these “schools” (and I use that term loosely) employ to sop up as much federal aid as possible.
These schools intentionally target people who desperately want an education but juggle far too many obligations and face way too many challenges that they don’t regard more traditional educational settings a viable option - and so these institutions peddle “accelerated” abbreviated degree programs at insanely high costs, promising career prospects that don’t exist.
One example Frontline used was a nursing program at a for profit school where the students never once stepped foot into an actual hospital during the entirety of their time at the school and were left with massive debt and no jobs because no hospital in their right mind would hire nurses with little to no real working knowledge of medical care. Their story was the norm, not the exception.
These for profit schools have a bad reputation because their existence is not just harmful, it’s downright immoral.
If you’d like the funny/entertaining version of what @preamble1776 is referencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8pjd1QEA0c (4:20 if you want to jump straight to the for profit schools part with no student debt intro)
whenhen’s the real mvp =D>
@iwannabe_Brown LOL I knew exactly what the link was before I clicked on it. Unfortunately, despite the hilarity of John Oliver (who I absolutely ADORE), that segment still depressed the living hell out of me.