As today’s struggling economy copes with unemployment, inflation, and low job expansion more and more people are entering the arena to higher education to make their way to the middle class. With this increasing surge in the market traditional public universities and colleges are approaching capacity and are becoming highly elitist in their way of acceptance for enrollment, also, many of these aspiring students are first generation college-goers from low-income families and don’t find appeal in the traditional “liberal arts” college experience, or are adults who are in dead end careers and want to get their dream job. These students are career driven and want a degree that focuses on the job they seek. To answer this niche in the market independent for-profit institutions, such as the University of Phoenix, have created pseudo “shortcut” degrees that they advertise will put students in the exact job they want before they even graduate, and have them on the fast track to success. With huge catalogues of degrees that all boast to be industry accredited, and to be attainable in two and a half years cause these institutions attract tens of thousands. The kicker is, surprise, they’re a hoax.
For-profits started as small career and technical colleges in the 60’s, largely based in urban areas. They were relatively small, operated out of rented buildings, and they charged relatively low fees to their customers, who in turn learned specific skills that lead to jobs. They had few classes catering to trade and profession training such as plumbing, art, cosmetology, and the like. The situation changed with the founding of the University of Phoenix and DeVry University. These huge entities flooded the market and overshadowed the mom-and-po...
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...und $22,000 (Clark 67). Where does there revenue come from? 90% from government money and the remaining 10% they rely on military veterans—GI Bill money counts – the rest being scholarships and loans.
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Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
As the high school chapter is coming to a close, many students have to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. Hopefully, for many that decision is to enroll in a college and attain a higher education. However, as tuition costs rise, students have to take a second look at their options for a better future. A community college is that second look for many because it is the less expensive option. From 2007-2009, enrollment for community colleges has increased by 24 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). Students aren’t choosing a college for educational purposes because they are overwhelmed by financial issues. They are attending community colleges so they will be able to graduate with a lower debt. Some seniors have wanted to attend a certain university all their life and they work toward that goal through grade school; however, they are hindered by soaring tuition for that college. Students should be able to attend a private university if they mee...
Increasing concern has been drawn toward the fact of there being a consistent correlation between for-profit colleges that accept federal student aid, and the sharp increase in tuition that results from the acceptance of...
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Proprietary education dates back to the late nineteenth century where institutions focused on professional training in teaching, medicine, and law (Breneman, Pusser, & Turner, S., 2000). The 1972 Higher Education Reauthorization Act included for-profit institutions in federal financial aid programs and changed the vernacular of higher education to postsecondary education (2000). This piece of legislation along with new technologies along with increased demand for higher education and prompted a resurgence of for-profit institutions in the latter half of the twentieth century (2000). From these changes, a new era of postsecondary education was born
When people like Clifford examine education, it is not the worth and value they see, but the opportunity for profit. With nearly $5-billion provided from the federal government, for-profits are able to advertise 24/7 availability, along with quick and easy degrees. As stated in the article, “a quarter of all federal aid goes to for-profits, while they enroll only 10 percent of students” (216). Yet, the cost of tuition at for-profit institutions continues to be significantly higher than colleges and universities—leaving many graduates with a lifetime of debt—while maintaining they do not “have any responsibility whatsoever for how much students borrow and whether they can pay it back” (218). What Carey presents as a measure of success proves to show exactly what damages for-profits cause.
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