It is time the US Department of Education look at State run colleges and universities.
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin
The federal government through the US Department of Education has
done an excellent job of ferreting out abuse and fraud in the for-profit
college business.
There have been a number of these colleges, including Corinthian, and most recently, ITT Tech
completely shut down.
See Bloomberg Shahien
Nasiripour For-Profit
College Watchdog Nears Death after Education Department Ruling
The main concern was the intensive marketing efforts at those
eligible for college loans and especially veterans.
There were many questions regarding the quality of the education
the value of the degrees and certificates.
US Senator has Dick Durbin has led the charge looking into the
for-profit college sector.
"The continued upheaval in
the wake of Corinthian’s collapse is a long overdue reckoning for an industry
that profits off of students while sticking them with a worthless degree and
insurmountable debt," Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said in a
written statement.
For some additional insight check out the article in Higher Ed by Paul Fain Vanishing Profit, and Campuses.
Here is a List
of For-Profit Universities and colleges Wikipedia which includes a list of
those for profits that have closed.
It is time the US Department of Education look at State run
colleges and universities.
The massive influx of money from student loans has allowed tuitions
at state run colleges and universities to soar to astronomical levels. It is not
hard to believe that some of these same aggressive and misleading marketing
tactics are at play in major public colleges and universities.
Along with all this money has come over bloated salaries for
professors and administrators, growing numbers of departments and degrees,
which produce graduates with no marketable degrees or skills and massive
student debt.
Nothing corrupts an educational institution, whether for- profit
or nonprofit faster than a big infusion of easy money. State college campuses
have become more palatial than practical. One only has to drive out I4 and look
at Florida Poly tech to see the effect and expectation of big money from
student loans.
It is time to look at the same issues: marketing techniques, job
promises, student-loan marketing, placement and job results and make sure state
run institutions are not just as guilty as the for-profits at running up
student debt.
A degree fine art with an emphasis on cracked pottery that takes
a student six years to earn and results in a $125,000 in student debt is not a
career benefit. It is a millstone he or she will carry around their neck for a
good part of their life.
Student loans are too easy to get; colleges are too quick to push
them, too eager to let students extend times to complete degrees (more money
from student loans) and provide little or no counseling regarding the after
graduation effects of these heavy debt loads.
New criteria for student loans need to be established based on
the earning potential of the degree being sought. Degrees with a low market value
should qualify for no or much lower student-loan access.
There are a lot of 24 year olds and up college graduates living
with their parents because they cannot get a job that will pay their student
loans and any reasonable living expenses.
I for one would like to see all current college loans paid off to
the loan holders, the leeches that mortgaged a generation of college students,
at ten cents on the dollar and the entire current student loan program stopped
or highly modified.
E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com
or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to Like
or share on Facebook.
See Doc's Photo Gallery at
Bay Post Photos.
Disclosures:
No comments:
Post a Comment