University of Phoenix under federal investigation

[clep3705]

University of Phoenix is the latest college under investigation - Jul. 29, 2015

[Life Long Learning]

Heck, the Community Colleges in Oregon only have a 8-10% graduation rate. The Government-Education Complex is sad!

[cptdilbert]

Heck, the Community Colleges in Oregon only have a 8-10% graduation rate. The Government-Education Complex is sad!

They are also ~1/4 the cost (roughly $100 a credit vs $400 a credit), and soon to be free for high school grads. A lot of community colleges provide additional benefits to the needs of the local community that would be difficult to do in a for-profit model.

[Life Long Learning]

I am no fan of The University of Phoenix. That being said they have 2x the graduation rate and have higher level degrees (AS, BS, and MS) than the taxpayer community colleges do in some states. They both have issues.

They are also ~1/4 the cost (roughly $100 a credit vs $400 a credit), and soon to be free for high school grads. A lot of community colleges provide additional benefits to the needs of the local community that would be difficult to do in a for-profit model.

[cptdilbert]

I am no fan of The University of Phoenix. That being said they have 2x the graduation rate and have higher level degrees (AS, BS, and MS) than the taxpayer community colleges do in some states. They both have issues.

I agree both have issues, and community college statistics cannot compare well with four-year universities like UoP. Dropouts include transfers who don't obtain a degree and non-degree seeking students at CC.

[sanantone]

University of Phoenix has already been sued and fined by the federal government a few times. Something like this is almost a regular occurrence for them.

I once read a study that said, if you included all people who eventually graduated with a bachelor's, community colleges would have a 40% graduation rate, on average. It is difficult to track the success of CC students. I count toward the dropout rate at two different CC systems even though I have a master's degree. Many people attend CCs with the intention of transferring and don't care about graduating with an associate's degree.

As far as I've heard, community college is only free for high school grads in a few states. I can only confirm Oregon and Tennessee.

[Prloko]

University of Phoenix has already been sued and fined by the federal government a few times. Something like this is almost a regular occurrence for them.

I once read a study that said, if you included all people who eventually graduated with a bachelor's, community colleges would have a 40% graduation rate, on average. It is difficult to track the success of CC students. I count toward the dropout rate at two different CC systems even though I have a master's degree. Many people attend CCs with the intention of transferring and don't care about graduating with an associate's degree.

As far as I've heard, community college is only free for high school grads in a few states. I can only confirm Oregon and Tennessee.

You might be able to say something similar about UoP also. Maybe not up to 40%, but if you subtract all the people who took courses because their employer paid for it, or for professional development/credits, you may see better numbers also.

This is a free market, and if the government has a problem with how a free market enterprise operates, then stop funding it, period. If they want to stick their nose in higher education, then pay for it outright like Europe, or butt out.

I hate UoP, I hate their marketing tactics, but once the students are in and pay for the services, then they should pay for them. People think the government are subsidizing the schools, but they aren't. They subsidized the student. And people in this country need to start looking in the mirror and taking some personal responsibility.

[cptdilbert]

This is a free market, and if the government has a problem with how a free market enterprise operates, then stop funding it, period. If they want to stick their nose in higher education, then pay for it outright like Europe, or butt out.

While I am definitely not an academia cheerleader, this definitely goes beyond free market. If you want to bring economics into the equation, there is a lot of social benefit and even potential social costs to education. Remember the Genesis and PEAK loans? Those were free market education and free market loans creating all kinds of social cost, which ended up triggering regulation.

There definitely is not a simply answer to this complex problem. Unfortunately it will get worse and more complicated in the coming decades with the increasing disparity between the need for graduates versus the amount of graduates.

As far as I've heard, community college is only free for high school grads in a few states. I can only confirm Oregon and Tennessee.

Oregon just passed the bill this summer. It is only free for students who enroll within six months from graduating high school and who maintain a 2.5 GPA. The state also only pays the difference for what the federal government does not cover with grants.

Never forget the federal grants piece. Today a Pell Grant is up to $5,775 a year which can go far at a community college. I knew plenty of people in California who attended community college for free off of Pell Grants and other financial assistance without loans. California use to provide free community college, and they are starting to talk about joining with Oregon, Tennesse, and President Obama in their plans for making community college free.

[Old Guy]

The university of Phoenix serves a need, otherwise it wouldn't exist. People who do their research can get a degree for much much less but they do not. Harassing the for-profits to the point of driving them out of business benefits no-one. To single out the for-profits for treatment ignores the fact that non-profits appear to be self-serving thieves in a lot of cases too.

[sanantone]

You might be able to say something similar about UoP also. Maybe not up to 40%, but if you subtract all the people who took courses because their employer paid for it, or for professional development/credits, you may see better numbers also.

This is a free market, and if the government has a problem with how a free market enterprise operates, then stop funding it, period. If they want to stick their nose in higher education, then pay for it outright like Europe, or butt out.

I hate UoP, I hate their marketing tactics, but once the students are in and pay for the services, then they should pay for them. People think the government are subsidizing the schools, but they aren't. They subsidized the student. And people in this country need to start looking in the mirror and taking some personal responsibility.

It would be interesting to see the reasons why people drop out of various kinds of 4-year schools broken down by percentage. I'm sure this administration would love to stop giving aid to students attending for-profit colleges, but something like that would need a bill to pass the House and Senate.

While I am definitely not an academia cheerleader, this definitely goes beyond free market. If you want to bring economics into the equation, there is a lot of social benefit and even potential social costs to education. Remember the Genesis and PEAK loans? Those were free market education and free market loans creating all kinds of social cost, which ended up triggering regulation.

There definitely is not a simply answer to this complex problem. Unfortunately it will get worse and more complicated in the coming decades with the increasing disparity between the need for graduates versus the amount of graduates.


Oregon just passed the bill this summer. It is only free for students who enroll within six months from graduating high school and who maintain a 2.5 GPA. The state also only pays the difference for what the federal government does not cover with grants.

Never forget the federal grants piece. Today a Pell Grant is up to $5,775 a year which can go far at a community college. I knew plenty of people in California who attended community college for free off of Pell Grants and other financial assistance without loans. California use to provide free community college, and they are starting to talk about joining with Oregon, Tennesse, and President Obama in their plans for making community college free.

CCs can be free for students who qualify for enough in grant money. As far as them becoming free nationwide, I don't think this will pass at the federal level unless the composition of Congress drastically changes. Someone tried to present a bill like this in Texas, but it wasn't passed. Our government has only gotten even more conservative. Free community college in Tennessee was a surprise.