Welfare to Work and For-Profit Colleges

[sanantone]

I was listening to NPR earlier today, and they were talking about an interesting issue. When welfare to work legislation was being pushed, there was an opposing argument that education should be funded for welfare recipients. Ultimately, the crowd wanting to get people to work as soon as possible, even if it is in minimum wage jobs that would still allow them to qualify for welfare, won out. At most, one can receive welfare and attend school for 12 months before having to get a job.

NPR talked to a sociology professor who used to be an admissions rep at a for-profit college. She described how she had a lot of single mothers signing up for the cosmetology program and asking her to sign a form confirming that they enrolled in school. The 12-month limit steered students to certificate programs, such as cosmetology. Becoming an RN or anything else that required an associates or bachelors degree would take too long. I know some who will say that there are some certificate programs that lead to good-paying jobs and there are. However, not a lot of women are going to enroll in welding, electrician, and plumbing programs. They most often enroll in childcare, phlebotomy, medical assistant, nursing assistant, and cosmetology programs. These are all low-paying jobs with programs that can cost anywhere from $10,000 to over $30,000 at a for-profit college. NPR further explained that, even though community colleges often offer these programs, some areas do not have community colleges nearby and are served by for-profit colleges.

What they didn't discuss is that, even if there are nearby community colleges, a lot of economically disadvantaged students still choose for-profits due to the amount of hand-holding and not having to take placement tests that will require them to take remedial courses. Some other things for-profits might offer are an on-site daycare and a laptop or tablet (which they will tack on to your tuition bill). The for-profit I worked at charged students about $1,000 for a laptop that was worth less than $500. They said the extra fees were for technical support, but that support was only for six months.

[bjcheung77]

They make money off you any way they can, by saying a computer is worth more, so it looks like you're not paying as much for tuition. There are so many tactics and strategies that for profits play to get people on board...