Degrees of Debt
By JEREMY DEHN
NYT
Denver
THE Senate recently held hearings on for-profit colleges, investigating charges that the schools rake in federal loan money while failing to adequately educate students. Critics point to deceptive sales tactics, fraudulent loan applications, high drop-out rates and even higher tuitions. In response, the Department of Education has proposed a “gainful employment” rule, which would cut financing to for-profit colleges that graduate (or fail) students with thousands of dollars of debt and no prospect of salaries high enough to pay them off.
As an adjunct professor who teaches at one of these vilified colleges, I wish I could say the critics are wrong. They’re not. The gainful employment rule is a step in the right direction, but it is only the beginning of what needs to be done.
I teach at state and nonprofit schools too, and I’ve worked alongside dedicated teachers in all three programs. But I’ve also seen how for-profit schools’ mandate to serve both students and shareholders leads to big differences between the public and for-profit models.
First there’s the cost: For-profit colleges are often much more expensive than comparable public ones. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, one for-profit institution charged $14,000 for a certificate in computer-aided drafting that a local community college offered for just $520.
(More here.)
NYT
Denver
THE Senate recently held hearings on for-profit colleges, investigating charges that the schools rake in federal loan money while failing to adequately educate students. Critics point to deceptive sales tactics, fraudulent loan applications, high drop-out rates and even higher tuitions. In response, the Department of Education has proposed a “gainful employment” rule, which would cut financing to for-profit colleges that graduate (or fail) students with thousands of dollars of debt and no prospect of salaries high enough to pay them off.
As an adjunct professor who teaches at one of these vilified colleges, I wish I could say the critics are wrong. They’re not. The gainful employment rule is a step in the right direction, but it is only the beginning of what needs to be done.
I teach at state and nonprofit schools too, and I’ve worked alongside dedicated teachers in all three programs. But I’ve also seen how for-profit schools’ mandate to serve both students and shareholders leads to big differences between the public and for-profit models.
First there’s the cost: For-profit colleges are often much more expensive than comparable public ones. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, one for-profit institution charged $14,000 for a certificate in computer-aided drafting that a local community college offered for just $520.
(More here.)
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