Another happy graduate of America's for-profit universities

Amidst the usual pile of comment spam, we recently received the following (depressing) anonymous comment on one of our posts, "Make them wallow in their grief!": More Tales from the For-Profit College Wasteland:

Dear Sir,

With much grief and concern, I write this letter because I find myself corner in a situation which I believe should have never happens in this country of ours. In the year 2005 I, a believer on the advancement of people through education, signed with a local for profit college, EVEREST COLLEGE, and after 8 years of aggravation and false promises, I concluded that only the so call “College” has advance while us, the people whose only sin has been to believe that one can better himself through education, only have a tremendous debt which obviously will not be able to pay during our life time to show for. At the beginning with the promises that upon completion there were good paying jobs, this institution offer their own financing at outrageous interest and later, help to obtain government lending.

I have previous experience in nursing but, wanted to become a Register Cardiac Sonographer, in pursuing that dream, went to Everest College where was told that the prerequisite was an Associate Degree as a Cardiovascular Technician, did that an then signed for the Cardiac Sonography program upon completion.

I have finished all requirements and have taken and obtain all the require licenses, not due to them but by hiring outside tutors. All the promises made of great salaries, employment after completing the program have been false, worse yet, many institution hospitals and private institutions are not willing to hire graduates from this “college” because it is considered a substandard not credited school. Today, I am settled with a 50,000.00 dollars debt in a job that has nothing to do with my Degree.
I have a worthless degree which basically makes me unemployable in the field that I studied since the so call “College” has no state validation.

The institution who lend the funds to study, Sallie Mae, have imposed payments schedules which actually takes fifty percent of my paycheck so, I work as an EKG Technician, I am left with very little to solve my everyday payments and comprises and fine myself working to pay Sallie Mae.

I have looked into continuing my education at local State College but, due to the fact that the “so call College” I attended is not accredited, my credits are not transferable, I will have to start all over again probably ending with a debt over 100,000.00 dollars still making 12 to 13 dollars an hour.

I write this letter as form of complain hoping that this state will finally advocate for us instead of the corporation whose only interest is to fill their pockets with absolutely no concern to the damage they are creating, with the changes made by Congress to the “Bankruptcy Law” making students loans non-dischargeable, the downward spiral of the student’s loan abuse will continue. These schools must be regulated, fine whenever false promises are made, and be obligated that cannot open doors until full accreditation is obtain.

I have repeatedly requested copy of my transcript, professor credentials and course description with no avail, my petition has not been answer situation which does not allow me to at least try to enroll in a reputable institution

I know that for my case, it is too late, but please let’s stop the damage these schools are doing to our fellow Floridians.

I am organizing some past students of this institution and plan in a near future file a Class Law Suit hoping that this action will stop these institutions from keeping creating more damage while getting richer every day. We have launched a complaint before the Florida Better Business Bureau regarding this matter but, have not received any follow ups from them.

I wish the commenter the best of luck, and I hope that his/her tale of woe dissuades other students from falling for the for-profits' slick pitches.

University of Phoenix 3-year Default Rate: 26.4%

The U.S. Department of Education has started publishing student loan default rates, and the University of Phoenix is, as usual, at the back of the pack. 26.4% of University of Phoenix students default on their student loans within 3 years.

Americans, that's a lot of your tax money down the drain (and lining the pockets of the giant corporations that run these schools). You can go here to browse the figures on some of the other proprietary schools (e.g. Ashford, Kaplan), many of which aren't doing a whole lot better. Should you wish to search conventional public and private universities, go here.


Naturally, the for-profit schools aren't going to take this default rate problem lying down! As Salon's Andrew Leonard explains in a great article, the colleges are now providing counseling to students to help them avoid default:

Lauren Asher, president of the higher education research and advocacy think tank the Institute for College Access and Success, questioned whether Corinthian’s sharp drop in default rates actually served the interests of students. She pointed to a May 3 conference call Corinthian held with investors, in which company executives acknowledged that much of the improvement resulted from “deferment and forbearance. “In other words, Corinthian students were being counseled on how to delay paying back their student loans, in order to avoid defaulting during the three-year window tracked by state and federal governments." 

Of course, this regime of counseling isn't simply out of the goodness of the proprietary schools' hearts--the threat of federal and state sanctions is motivating them to bring default rates down. Interestingly, as Leonard points out, this counseling may actually be harmful for some students who would default anyway, since delaying default simply adds to the balance of the loan.

Social Issues has lots more coverage on University of Phoenix and its brethren--here, here, and here.

"Make them wallow in their grief!" More tales from the for-profit college wasteland

It's time for yet another round with one of my personal bete noires, for-profit colleges.

In a previous post, I explained one of the softer sides of the for-profit sales pitch, which is basically "Go to college the EZ way." Go to school in your PJs, in your house, on your computer, in your car (this is America, after all)--anywhere but in the good ol' classroom. Education Connection, a sales lead generating agency for the for-profit colleges, has enlisted Shannen Doherty to make this pitch, but unknown fluorescently-white-toothed American actresses are on the payroll as well (see video below).

Yet beyond the twilit realm of pyjamas advertising, there is a mean, sharp edge to the sales pitch, and we have found out a bit more about it thanks to a recent lawsuit against Everest College, one of Corinthian Colleges' (a giant for-profit university chain) outlets in Utah.

Education Connection: worst ad in America or worst company in America?

The Consumerist, a consumer rights blog, is running their annual "Worst Ad in America" contest. Beyond the usual mix of unfunny jokes, horrible theme songs, or hackneyed corporate spokesthings, one ad caught my eye. It's a spot for Education Connection, a company which claims to help match students with colleges. If you click on the video, you will discover why Education Connection has been nominated for Worst Jingle:

But it's not the quality of the jingle that interests me here. Our pitchwoman sings, "It matched me with the right college for me for free." As Neil Young says, "Tell me more, tell me more." Who are these altruists who want to inform America's youth about their exciting college options?