What Is the True Cost of For-Profit Schools?
It was a typical Thursday night for 29 year-old Dane Lockman. The single father had just put his son to bed and was flipping through late night infomercials, looking for something to pike his interest. Suddenly, a captivating advertisement for Westwood College of Atlanta filled the screen. As Dane listened to the sales pitch, he felt the burning desire to pick up the phone and call the number on the screen. He could do this! He could be the first person in his family to earn a college degree! His parents would be so proud of him. With his college degree, he was confident that he would be able to provide the lavish lifestyle that his son deserved. He picked up the phone.1 A few months later, Dane …show more content…
Kevin Carrey, director of the education policy program at the New American Foundation, explained that "for-profit (colleges) exist in large part to fix educational market failure’s left by traditional institutions, and they profit by serving students that public and private nonprofit institutions too often ignore."2 Supporters of for-profit colleges argue that there are many individuals who would benefit economically from attending college, but are unable to do so for various reasons. Some of these reasons include being a single parent, needing to work during traditional school hours and not speaking English fluently enough to pass college entrance exams. By offering online courses and classes during nights and weekends, for-profit colleges are able to cater to the learning needs of these students. Another potential benefit of attending these institutions is since many of the students are older adults with very little time for school activities outside of classes, extracurricular programs such as sports teams and campus clubs can be eliminated in order to lower tuition …show more content…
The majority of nationally accredited schools are for-profit businesses. Regionally accredited schools are mostly non-profit, academically oriented institutions. All state colleges and universities are regionally accredited.6 The average cost of a two-year associate degree at a nationally accredited for-profit school is $35,000 versus an average cost of only $8,300 for the same degree at a regionally accredited community college.4 Unfortunately, students at for-profit schools often don’t realize until after enrolling that the bulk of regionally accredited schools refuse to accept transfer credits from their nationally accredited counterparts. Students at for-profit schools face the dilemma of whether to continue their education at very expensive schools or start all over at more reasonably priced
It was a typical Thursday night for 29 year-old Dane Lockman. The single father had just put his son to bed and was flipping through late night infomercials, looking for something to pike his interest. Suddenly, a captivating advertisement for Westwood College of Atlanta filled the screen. As Dane listened to the sales pitch, he felt the burning desire to pick up the phone and call the number on the screen. He could do this! He could be the first person in his family to earn a college degree! His parents would be so proud of him. With his college degree, he was confident that he would be able to provide the lavish lifestyle that his son deserved. He picked up the phone.1 A few months later, Dane …show more content…
Kevin Carrey, director of the education policy program at the New American Foundation, explained that "for-profit (colleges) exist in large part to fix educational market failure’s left by traditional institutions, and they profit by serving students that public and private nonprofit institutions too often ignore."2 Supporters of for-profit colleges argue that there are many individuals who would benefit economically from attending college, but are unable to do so for various reasons. Some of these reasons include being a single parent, needing to work during traditional school hours and not speaking English fluently enough to pass college entrance exams. By offering online courses and classes during nights and weekends, for-profit colleges are able to cater to the learning needs of these students. Another potential benefit of attending these institutions is since many of the students are older adults with very little time for school activities outside of classes, extracurricular programs such as sports teams and campus clubs can be eliminated in order to lower tuition …show more content…
The majority of nationally accredited schools are for-profit businesses. Regionally accredited schools are mostly non-profit, academically oriented institutions. All state colleges and universities are regionally accredited.6 The average cost of a two-year associate degree at a nationally accredited for-profit school is $35,000 versus an average cost of only $8,300 for the same degree at a regionally accredited community college.4 Unfortunately, students at for-profit schools often don’t realize until after enrolling that the bulk of regionally accredited schools refuse to accept transfer credits from their nationally accredited counterparts. Students at for-profit schools face the dilemma of whether to continue their education at very expensive schools or start all over at more reasonably priced