For-Profit Higher Education Crackdown

[fredtoast]

(09-07-2016, 10:56 AM)JustWinBaby Wrote: There are already, I think, literally thousands of accredited colleges and universities.

When you give out easy money, or free money after Hillary gets elected, thinking everyone is entitled to an advanced degree, guess what will happen?  You have a shortage of schools and so shitty programs will spring up to serve dumb students who shouldn't be going to college, all on the taxpayer dime.

Not sure what your point is here, but I don't think you understand what I was trying to say.


We need a better system to get people educated.  Paying for a full college degree is outrageous.  We need more "trade schools".  And I don't mean just low level trades.  You should be able to learn to be an accountant without having to pay for required electives that have nothing to do with accounting.

[Belsnickel]

Just to clarify some things, since there has been discussion of accreditation more now. The whole issue with these schools stems from their accrediting agency, ACICS. They have been having issues with the DOE and have been investigated by several states, and so the schools accredited by them are now being put into the spotlight. If there was a bit more regulation there, it could help the issue.

[JustWinBaby]

(09-07-2016, 11:21 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Not sure what your point is here, but I don't think you understand what I was trying to say.


We need a better system to get people educated.  Paying for a full college degree is outrageous.  We need more "trade schools".  And I don't mean just low level trades.  You should be able to learn to be an accountant without having to pay for required electives that have nothing to do with accounting.

I mostly agree.  Although I think you can get a two-year Associate's degree in Accounting.  The problem is businesses have a rather high bias to 4-yr degrees.  I suppose that still leads to better jobs and opportunities than working at McD's, but free college education is never going to level the playing field.

And the reality is, the best companies will still recruit from the best schools, which have plenty of financial aid and scholarships for the best students.  I don't see anything wrong with that - everybody doesn't deserve a chance to play in the NFL, you have to earn the opportunity.

I think the problem, like you mention, is lack of trade schools, entry-level and advanced.  There doesn't seem to be a shortage of college degrees for accounting and other business jobs.  There definitely seems to be a shortage of qualified skilled trades.

I'd also like to see "practical" electives that provide a real return on the course cost.  Forget that a basic investment/finance (and probably economics) courses should be required - no college graduate should be incapable of understanding a mortgage, basic taxes, or fundamental principles of investing.  Now, I can read a books on philosophy if I want to enrich myself, but maybe I should have the option of taking a course in home plumbing if I choose.  I think there's limited ROI to a 100 level course in philosophy, but the others mentioned are valuable life skills that would save/make one thousands of dollars throughout their life.

[JustWinBaby]

(09-07-2016, 10:59 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Just out of curiosity, are schools that teach you something like hair styling or plumbing or auto repair considered one of these for profits or is that completely different?

I don't know.  I remember I met a girl at a bar once and she said she was going to Columbia.  I thought "ooohhhhh"....then she said she was studying cosmetology, and I was like "wait, wuh?"

Competition for top students is pretty intense at schools.  So the more people we send off to college with free tuition and what not, the more schools you will need to serve those bottom tiers of students.  Those ROI's are never going to be very good, at all.  And if you choose a course of study that is already saturated at better schools, there aren't going to be jobs for you in that field of study.  Maybe if you are a straight A student at the bottom tier school, you can compete with the C students at better schools (but that's being fixed with grade inflation).