Nov 282010
 
Share

Daniel de Vise in The Washington Post in November 2010 reported on the graduation rates at for-profit colleges.

  • 55% of students enrolled in public universities graduate.  65% of students enrolled in private non-profit universities graduate.
  • The graduation rate at for-profit universities is 22%.
  • The University of Phoenix is the largest for-profit college with 238,326 students.  It’s graduation rate is 9%.
  • However, the School of Visual Arts in New York, another for-profit college, has a graduation rate of 67%.  (This percentage is part of the overall average of 22% listed previously.)
  • Bachelor’s “degree recipients graduate with a median debt of $31,190 in the for-profit sector, compared with $17,040 among private nonprofit colleges and $7,960 at public institutions. “
  • 12% of all college students attend for-profit colleges.  However, 43% of all student loan defaults are from for-profit college students.

To read the entire article, click on Report criticizes for-profit colleges for low graduation rates.

Frontline in May 2010 also reported on for-profit colleges. The report was titled College, Inc.

  • Graduates from a for-profit nursing school in California received diplomas but never went into a hospital during their schooling.
  • “One woman who enrolled in a for-profit doctorate program in Dallas later learned that the school never acquired the proper accreditation she would need to get the job she trained for. She is now sinking in over $200,000 in student debt.”
  • 10% of all college students attend for-profit colleges according to Frontline.  (The Washington Post report mentioned 12%.)  However, for-profit schools receive 25% of federal financial aid.
  • Also according to Frontline, 44% of students who defaulted were from for-profit schools.  (The Washington Post report mentioned 43%.)  This statistic leads “to serious questions about one of the key pillars of the profit degree college movement: that their degrees help students boost their earning power.”

To read and view the entire report/program, click on College, Inc. Also, to view the entire program online, click the video below.

Watch College Inc. on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.