Federal report slams online for-profit colleges

Harkin requested the GAO report released Nov. 22.

Undercover investigators from the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) earned course credit while skipping classes and submitting substandard work in online for-profit college programs – findings the for-profit industry has labeled politicized and unreliable.

“For-Profit Schools: Experiences of Undercover Students Enrolled in Online Classes at Selected Colleges,” a GAO report released Nov. 22, is the second government examination of for-profit colleges’ practices, which have been called into question by many in higher education and lawmakers in Congress.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), head of the Senate’s education committee, ordered the yearlong investigation in which GAO agents pretended to be online students at 15 for-profit colleges.…Read More

Are for-profit colleges hurting online education’s reputation?

For-profit colleges account for about half of student loan defaults.

Congressional hearings and a barrage of criticism have put for-profit colleges on the defensive, and with many of the sector’s largest schools touting vast web-based course options, those who track the industry say for-profit programs could damage the public perception of online education.

Lawmakers from both major parties have defended the for-profit industry’s business practices, but Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has remained one of the most vocal—and active—critics of for-profit colleges’ recruitment and student loan practices.

Read more about for-profit colleges in higher education……Read More

Analysis shows high student loan default rate at for-profit colleges

For-profit schools took in $23 billion in government aid during the 2008-09 school year.

A new U.S. Department of Education (ED) report details rising loan default rates among students at for-profit colleges as the for-profit industry – including some of the country’s largest online education programs – fends off government regulations that could limit their federal aid.

About 25 percent of students at for-profit institutions – such as the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University – defaulted on their school loans within three years of starting repayment, according to the federal analysis, released Feb. 4.

That default rate is up from a 21-percent rate at for-profit colleges in late 2009, according to ED. For-profit college students, who make up about 15 percent of all U.S. students, now account for 46 percent of all student loan defaults.…Read More

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