The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

While Public Higher Education Funding Is Slashed For-Profits Grow On Student Loans

The volume of federally guaranteed student loans to students at so-called proprietary colleges — the ones that intend to operate at a profit and get nearly all their revenue from the government — continues to grow. At the same time, state and local governments across the country are slashing spending on higher education, and community colleges — the ones most likely to offer alternatives to the students recruited by the far more expensive proprietary schools — are suffering some of the largest reductions. That trend has been welcome news to the proprietary colleges. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/business/us-subsidies-to-for-profit-colleges-keep-growing.html?ref=business 

 

For-Profit Colleges Spend Over $3 Billion A Year On Advertising And Recruiting

Where do for-profit colleges get the money they spend on all those highway billboards and television and radio ads? Mostly from the government, at least indirectly. Federal money, most of it through the financial aid that students get, accounts for up to 90 percent of for-profit colleges' revenue -- even more in some cases if veterans attend the school on the GI bill. A recent Senate report on 15 large, publicly traded for-profit education companies said they got 86 percent of their revenue from taxpayers and have spent a combined $3.7 billion annually on marketing and recruiting. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/04/18/recruitment_ads_by_for_profit_colleges_targeted/

For-Profit Leaders Believe They Will Help Solve Higher Ed's Biggest Problems

The growing gap in the United States between a job market increasingly in need of workers with a specialized college education and the number of young people actually earning diplomas is a problem that appears to cry out for a free-market solution, with for-profit education companies stepping in to fill that void. Despite a surge in negative headlines over the last year, including new federal rules aimed at cracking down on for-profit universities with high loan default rates, the panel of education entrepreneurs remained highly upbeat throughout a two-hour discussion. They insisted that profit-seeking companies will play a positive role in two of the biggest problems in American education: poor student achievement and the need for increased access to college. Read more at:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2949

California Cracks Down On For-Profits With High Student Loan Default Rates

A little-known California law has dealt a blow to nearly half of the for-profit college campuses in the state, barring them from offering students a coveted Cal Grant this year. The law cracks down for the first time on schools with high student loan default rates, meaning graduates aren't paying back the money they owe even three years after leaving school. Now, California is tying participation in the Cal Grant program to colleges' three-year student loan default rates. Read more at: 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/05/BAU11N1V83.DTL#ixzz1liIPkQJi

For-Profit Higher Ed Executives Make Even More Than Top Football Coaches

A Huffington Post analysis of compensation across higher education reveals that CEOs and former CEOs at for-profit college corporations bring home much more than the presidents of some of the most prestigious public and private universities in America, despite questionable outcomes for students. In addition, many of the top earners at for-profit colleges received more in compensation than football and basketball coaches at large public universities. The highest-paid for-profit education executive was Gregory Cappelli, the co-CEO of the Apollo Group, parent company of the University of Phoenix. Cappelli was awarded more than $25 million in total compensation last year. Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/for-profit-college-compensation_n_1229284.html

Are For-Profit IHEs Nimble Critters Or Agile Predators

Students attending for-profit colleges wind up with much higher student-loan debts, are less likely to be employed after graduation and generally earn less than similar students at public or private nonprofit schools. The study, conducted by a group of Harvard researchers, examines a bevy of federal data tracking student graduation rates, federal loan repayment rates and student success in securing jobs. The researchers ask one central question: Are for-profit colleges "nimble critters" responding to higher demand for college degrees, or "agile predators" that target low-income students with the intent of reaping profits through federal student aid dollars? Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/for-profit-colleges-unemployment-debt_n_1182164.html

For-Profits' Lobbying Pays Off With Diluted Regulations

 Last year, the Obama administration vowed to stop for-profit colleges from luring students with false promises. In an opening volley that shook the $30 billion industry, officials proposed new restrictions to cut off the huge flow of federal aid to unfit programs. But after a ferocious response that administration officials called one of the most intense they had seen, the Education Departmentproduced a much-weakened final plan that almost certainly will have far less impact as it goes into effect next year. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/us/politics/for-profit-college-rules-scaled-back-after-lobbying.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Nearly Half Of GI Benefits For Higher Education Go To For-Profits

It might be widely assumed that the federal dollars flowing out of Washington to educate Virginia veterans under the Post-9/11 GI Bill are mostly going to traditional public or private nonprofit colleges and universities.That assumption would be wrong. Nearly half of the $321 million in GI Bill benefits paid out on behalf of Virginia veterans last year went to for-profit schools. The trend is raising alarms with some in Washington. Read more at:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/forprofit-colleges-grab-big-share-gi-bill-money-0

For-Profits Move Ahead With Online Learning Technology

The future of online education at these prestigious schools won't involve abandoning the traditional classroom. But students will spend less time in the classroom, in favor of learning through personalized tutorials such as those produced by Carnegie Learning. The leading universities and colleges have seen the potential in this kind of this mix of online and face-to-face learning, and they are investing in it via internal development rather than external acquisition. The real disruptive threat is to the hundreds of institutions that emulate the elite few at the top. Read more at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/why-you-should-root-for-college-to-go-online/244834/

Despite Flaws We Still Need For-Profit Higher Education

The shadow of scandal has, in turn, done a lot to color the way the larger society thinks about the industry. The for-profit college industry makes its money by recruiting students — overwhelmingly poor and working-class students — who must draw from the federal till to pay tuition. In many cases, as much as 90 percent of the revenue of a for-profit college company comes from the federal government. There is nothing inherently wrong with the idea of for-profit education. The for-profits have flaws, but so do nonprofits, with their bloated infrastructure, sky-high tuition, out-of-control athletic programs and resistance to change. In a country where education matters so much, we need them both. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/why-we-need-for-profit-colleges.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss