Prospectus

Prospectus

1.)     Kevin Carey, “Why Do You Think They’re Called For-Profit Colleges?” - http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Do-You-Think-Theyre/123660/

·      Brief Description:  The federal government provides a significant amount of money to for-profit college through Pell Grants and subsidized student loans, even though they enroll only 10 percent of college students.  Graduates from these schools accumulate a large amount of debt due to the huge student loans.  Although they are perceived to provide low-value degrees, when compared to a traditional school, for-profit colleges also has its advantages that may appeal to students.  For-profits provide various methods of learning that traditional colleges do not.

2.)     David Deming, Claudia Goldin, and Lawrence Katz, “For-Profit Colleges” -  http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/lkatz/files/foc_dgk_spring_2013.pdf

·      Brief Description: The article starts of by describing the aspects of for-profit colleges, including information regarding enrollment, demographics, funding, etc.  They mention economic returns to attending a for-profit college.  Students tend to default on their loans and tend to drop out before graduation.  They also find low-paying jobs after graduating from their programs.  It describes five main reasons why student enroll in for-profit institutions, which include shorter programs, career-oriented and better student guidance.  The article cloncludes with the positive aspects of for-profit colleges.

·      Claim from Carey: For-profit colleges provide an education for the under-privileged, allowing them to obtain higher education.

o   “For-profits exist in large part to fix educational market failures left by traditional institutions, and they profit by serving students that public and private nonprofit institutions too often ignore.”

·      Key Quotes from source:

o   “For-profit colleges also enroll a more disadvantaged group of beginning undergraduates than do other postsecondary schools.” p 139

o   “Only 75 percent of first-time undergraduates enrolled in for-profit colleges have a high school diploma, compared with 85 percent of students in community colleges and 95 percent in public or nonprofit four-year colleges (most of the other undergraduates have a General Educational Development diploma, or GED).” p 139

·      This source provides information on the demographics of the students that enroll in for-profit colleges.  These students are those who may not meet the requirements needed to attend a traditional institution. For-profits allow them a place to obtain a degree and higher education.

3.)     Sarah Ann Schade, “Reining in the Predatory Nature of For-Profit Colleges” – http://www.arizonalawreview.org/pdf/56-1/56arizlrev317.pdf

·      Brief Description: The introduction tells a story about an eighth grader who was seeking help in college funding.  A recruiter for Ashford University had tricked him into falsifying financial aid documents in order for the school to receive federal student-loan money.  For-profits spend an incredible amount of money in marketing in order to ensure successful recruitment.  They operate like a business, because they run just like a company.  They give false impressions and market lies in order to recruit more students.  The quality of education is often poor, and degrees lack any value.  The article concludes with different things that can be done in order to fight these for-profit colleges aggressive marketing behavior.

·      Claim from Carey: For-profit recruitment preys of young and naïve consumers, forcing them to commit fraud and forced to take out huge amounts of student loans.

o   “Horror stories of aggressive recruiters’ inducing students to take out huge loans for nearly worthless degrees are filling the news.”

·      Key Quotes from source:

o   “Because Ashford University requires a high school diploma or equivalency for admission, the recruiter told Ruffin to falsify his financial aid forms to indicate that he had already graduated…” p 318

o   “While on may counter with the notion that for-profit colleges are doing society a service by reading out to populations in desperate needs of education and opportunities, these institutions have ulterior motives—for-profit colleges target disadvantages students because they qualify for federal grants and loans, which translates into profit for the college entities.” p 323

·      This source shows the aggressive behavior of the marketing and recruitment teams of for-profit colleges.  It gives specific examples of ways that for-profit recruiters target students who are forced to take out larger amounts of federal student loans.

4.)     Astra Taylor and Hannah Appel,”Subprime Students: How For-Profit Universities Make a Killing By Exploiting College Dreams” - http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/for-profit-university-subprime-student-poor-minority

·      Brief Description: There is a negative attitude toward for-profit colleges.  It mentions the deceit of obtaining a degree from a for-profit.  Those who fall for these unfulfilled promises are those who come from underprivileged backgrounds.  They are left with a job that they could have gotten had they not attended the for-profit institution.  Also, they are left with a large amount of debt.  The give great details on the various and popular for-profit schools across America.

·      Claim from Carey: Students are not guaranteed a job when they graduate.  Often times, their student loans will exceed their income after graduation.  For-profits are unconcerned about their students after they graduate.

o   “But he rejects the Obama administration’s proposal to cut off federal aid to for-profits at which student-debt payments after graduation exceed a certain percentage of graduates’ income.  He won’t even acknowledge that student borrowing is related to how much colleges charge.”

·      Key Quotes from source:

o   “The mantra is everywhere: a college education is the only way to climb out of poverty and create a better life.”

o   “Graduates of for-profit schools generally do not fare well.  Indeed, they rarely find themselves in the kind of work they were promised when they enrolled, the kind of work that might enable them to repay their debts, let alone purchase the commodity-cornerstones of the American dream like a car or a home.”

·      The connection between the graduate’s income and their ability to repay their loans is apparent in both articles.  Also, the unconcerned nature of the for-profit colleges show that their main interest was getting money, rather than providing an education and degree that may guarantee their graduates’ success in the future.