tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post8141047422297849379..comments2024-03-27T08:39:28.807-06:00Comments on Wash Park Prophet: For Profit Colleges Mostly A Bad DealAndrew Oh-Willekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-32875519222173177082010-11-29T09:26:17.715-07:002010-11-29T09:26:17.715-07:00Private non-profits have essentially the same rest...Private non-profits have essentially the same restrictions on "free speech" as private for profits. Also, a large share of professors at private non-profits also generally have tenure, while for profit colleges almost always reserve the right to fire professors for ideological reasons.<br /><br />Non-profits that are tax exempt aren't allowed to be racially discriminatory in ways not incidental to religious requirements for faculty and staff. For profits aren't allowed to be racially discriminatory under civil rights laws since they are public accomodations.<br /><br />At any rate, the reality is that none of the big players in for profit education, like the University of Phoenix, ITT, DeVry, The Art Institute, Kaplan and Westwood have a political or ideological agenda, any more than General Motors, Target or General Electric do. They have interests that they lobby for, but not a larger political purpose.<br /><br />For profits generally seek to obtain accreditation from bodies that impose curriculum requirements essentially identical to those of private non-profits (often the very same bodies). I've been through an outside review at a sister college of the University of Phoenix as a professor and can assure you that there is no ideological agenda that the institution is trying to defend. The curricular battles at for profits largely involve instruction methods (e.g. receiving suitable parity of screen time for "seat time" in online instruction).<br /><br />Private non-profits can also raise capital from the private sector in public offerings of securities, so long as they do so in the form of bonds, rather than stock. Many do.<br /><br />I share your concern over undue entanglement of government in civil society and NGOs, and would favor reducing tax code implemented regulation of 501(c)(3) status while reducing the tax benefit from that status (or at least making a less regulated, less tax benefitted option more widely and easily available). But, that isn't the issue here. In the for profit higher education context is it simply an issue of students and government supporters not getting their money's worth.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-16621949587369535802010-11-29T06:31:14.156-07:002010-11-29T06:31:14.156-07:00I remember reading recently that several of these ...I remember reading recently that several of these colleges are under investigation by some state attorneys general. Some have very high pressure sales tactics toward students and seem designed to get the student enrolled just to get the Pell Grant money & student loan ball rolling. If the student drops out or can't pay they still have made money.<br /><br />Going into debt $30K for a degree that gets you a job paying $35K/year doesn't seem like a good deal at all.BSRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15466735916045536836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-44451596255045671352010-11-28T22:53:57.207-07:002010-11-28T22:53:57.207-07:00Politicians and the media have been disparaging in...Politicians and the media have been disparaging institutions akin to the University of Phoenix with the label "for-profit". But apart from these types of institutions, there is a valid reason why an institution may opt the for-profit route: the freedom of speech to espouse a particular ideology as it applies to specific candidates running at any given time. Liberty University almost became for-profit for that very reason, but in the end decided to reduce its political activities.<br /><br />Pell grants are a separate issue, but again ideological universities may eventually have to forego them. The U.S. Dept. of Education is starting to require state oversight of universities accepting Pell grant students. This could soon turn into curriculum requirements, such as including a requirement to avoid "hate speech" (i.e. Christian theology).Michael Malakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10007582156392845677noreply@blogger.com