[Lmo56]

Same goes for traditional colleges - so whats the diff ???

[WeatherGuy]

Same goes for traditional colleges - so whats the diff ???

Both churn out their fair share of expensive, worthless degrees, but for-profit colleges (for the most part) aren't a slush fund for Democrats, so they get attacked in the media.

[hinckley buzzard]

Big "diff"-- if you use your head for something besides a hat rack.

[TheDingoAteMyBaby]

I would be concerned that employers are inclined to disregard graduates of for-profit schools, only based on comments I’ve heard from managers.

[BobL]

“Same goes for traditional colleges - so whats the diff ???”

Accredited schools have to meet certain standards, which are not so high these days, but are MUCH HIGHER than high schools. So, if you hire someone with a college degree, chances are they can read and sign their name.

For-profit schools simply are not looked at as real, by employers, since they essentially police themselves and they simply haven’t convinced companies that they have real standards...even if they do.

Now, these for-profit schools could go to those same accreditation agencies and apply to get accredited...but they don’t seem to want to do that - not sure why.

[Richard Kimball]

For-profits enroll about 11 percent of all college students but account for about 45 percent of all student loan defaults.

That's the difference. Eleven percent of the loans make up almost half the defaults. Quite a few of these outfits are scam operations. I've seen some of their tactics up close.

[mlocher]

The loan default rate is the difference. The rate appears to be 2 to 3 times as high for the "for profit schools", although the article does not quite articulate it (I have to extrapolate from data given and use other sources.)

This of course, is not a surprise. If the student had the smarts to get into a higher caliber school, they would be more employable when they left. The issue is as much about the caliber of graduate as it is about the quality of education.

[Vigilanteman]

The easy way to solve this mess would be to privatize all student loans. Hillsdale College does not allow their students to take out federal loans. Their graduates have excellent job placement records because the college actually teaches them something.

If all student loans were privatized, people majoring in marketable degrees like nursing and engineering would be paying about 3%. People majoring in women's studies and similar fluff would be paying about 30%. The market would build in the risk of default according to the value of the degree and price the loans accordingly.

[fightinJAG]

I agree. There do seem to be some abuses in the for-profit industry, but these days most “education” is way over-priced and over-promised.

[Alberta's Child]

I think one difference is that “for-profit” schools (especially those whose programs are questionable enough that they aren’t accredited) have a big financial incentive to sign up students who simply aren’t college material.