For-profit colleges have been booming for the past
several years. Many offer flexible online programs and opportunities for
students who might not be able to gain admissions to non-profit and state
schools. But is a for-profit college the best choice for students seeking
higher education and career advancement? Recent developments suggest that the
answer is no.
after losing their accreditation.
Regaining accreditation would have been a two-year process, and the students
would not have been eligible for financial aid until the schools were re-accredited.
However, the schools were still obligated to follow Connecticut law which
included making provisions two months ahead of time so that students could make
other plans. This was not done.
Struggling for Enrollment
Far from the earlier boom years, for-profit
colleges are now struggling to maintain student enrollment amid allegations
that they offer an inferior education and overcharge students. Many for-profit
colleges are closing branches throughout the country. Even the manner in which
these colleges are closing is contentious. In Connecticut, for example, several
schools were closed at the end of 2012
Burdened Students
Another way in which the tide has turned regarding
for-profit colleges relates to the financial situation of students. Many either
drop out, unable to complete courses, or graduate with staggering student loans
and cannot find work. In July of 2012 a federal judge dismissed parts of a new
set of regulations from the Obama administration that attempted to ensure that
students of for-profit colleges did not end up in such dire straits.
Nevertheless, portions of the regulation remained, and the judge acknowledged
that there were problems with the schools that needed attention.
Projected Decline
Bloomberg News did a series of investigative
reports several years ago on for-profit colleges and alleged that many such
schools employed predatory practices against vulnerable populations including
homeless people and veterans. Meanwhile, the corporations that own the colleges
including Goldman Sachs and the Washington Post Co. are raking in billions.
Currently, the stock value of for-profit colleges is in decline.
Changing Landscape
Just a few short years ago, traditional schools
could not compete with the online offerings of for-profit colleges, but this is
a landscape that is changing rapidly and brick-and-mortar colleges and
universities are increasingly offering substantive online tracks. Some traditional
colleges have even begun offering some free online courses for credit. All of
this spells trouble for for-profit colleges that offered online flexibility as
their biggest advantage over traditional schools.
Another issue and one reason students often have
trouble securing jobs after graduation is that many for-profit schools simply
have poor educational reputations. That isn't to say that there might not be
talented and caring instructors at for-profit institutions or that no student
will get a good education at one. But by and large, the perception of the
colleges in both the business and the academic world is that they offer an
inferior education.
Concluding Remarks
It is not impossible that a student could obtain
both a good education and desired employment following graduation from a
for-profit college. However, given the increase in online classes from
community colleges, four-year institutions and universities and the
increasingly uncertain future of for-profit schools, students would do well to
investigate any for-profit schools they are considering carefully including
whether the school has come under state or federal investigation, its
accreditation status and the fate of its graduates. Students need to do
independent research rather than relying on what the school tells them. In the
end, though, the best choice is probably a traditional school whether the
student takes classes online or in person.
Reginald Sallinsky is a freelance blogger and
writer who focuses on education, professional development and training, the
employment market and other kindred concerns. Online colleges, such as those
online nursing schools and www.phlebotomytraining-classes.com,
are likewise a subject of great contention in society, and a topic likely to be
explored by Reginald in the future.
