Why do people attend "for profit" universities?

[EI2HCB]

Okay, great posts so far, but can some please define the letter codes you are using. UoP = University of phoenix I get that, there advertising obviously works but what about the others. APUS? thanks. Someone mentioned Strayer they called me twice this week, I took a course with them through Starbucks but it wasn't anything as rigorous as the Excelsior courses I've done and doing. Although EC isn't cheap either at 1200 a course

[ironheadjack]

American Public University System - Official Site - 877-755-2787

[soliloquy]

American Public University System - Official Site - 877-755-2787

I had never heard of them. Well, I guess it's not nice to lump all "for profits" into the same pool of crooks.

[Prloko]

Why aren't companies like UoP, Argosy, Capella, etc. losing students with the recent number of public not for profit universities that offer online programs. I just don't get it.

I see so many friends on facebook attending these for profit universities and I just don't understand it. Why are people so willing to just throw money away and end up with tens of tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.

How can we get the word out that there are MUCH better options.

I am a proud "soon to be" graduate of TESC, but there are many people out there who don't understand why I would "throw money away" attending my school. I used to be part of your faction, but as I got older I realize the great thing about living in a free society is having choice. The "for-profits" didn't invent the model, but they successfully filled a niche market and in a way legitimized online learning. Yes, the schools still have a terrible rap, but I try to stay out of people's school choices and instead try to offer ways to maximize CLEP/DSST credits at their school of choice.

I am surrounded by successful UoP(and similar schools) grads, and have learned to also be careful on being critical of schools, because you never know what school your next boss attended.

[Prloko]

I still don't understand how UoP is regionally accredited.

I think if people found out how we jam nonsense credits (FEMA, ALEKS, Penn Foster, SL) into our degree plans, people will wonder how TESC is RA. Just saying.

[Prloko]

UoP has lost about half of its enrollment numbers. They went from having almost 500k students to having 200k and something students in a few years. The main reason why most for-profit college students ended up choosing those schools is simple: advertisement. Many people don't bother to check to see if their local colleges offer online, weekend, and/or evening courses. Their assumption is that traditional colleges are not going to be flexible enough for them. They end up seeing UoP or similar advertising on t.v., a billboard, or online and think those types of schools are their only option. I'm used to hearing for-profits students say that so and so school was their only option. When I spout off this large list of non-profit colleges with online programs, they are dumbfounded.

Perhaps also the reason UoP is losing enrollments (besides bad reputation) is the fact that there ARE more options out there. There are great schools who offer Bachelors and Masters completely online now (Boston, Penn State, OSU, Hampton, ASU, GWU, UNC, etc.) mostly in response to the for profits. I haven't checked numbers, but perhaps there is also correlation to this fact also.

[soliloquy]

I think if people found out how we jam nonsense credits (FEMA, ALEKS, Penn Foster, SL) into our degree plans, people will wonder how TESC is RA. Just saying.

Gasp. Bite your tongue. Lol

[sanantone]

Perhaps also the reason UoP is losing enrollments (besides bad reputation) is the fact that there ARE more options out there. There are great schools who offer Bachelors and Masters completely online now (Boston, Penn State, OSU, Hampton, ASU, GWU, UNC, etc.) mostly in response to the for profits. I haven't checked numbers, but perhaps there is also correlation to this fact also.

Yes, people are discovering better options, but the decrease in enrollments escalated after federal scrutiny and media coverage. A lot of these alternative options have been around for a decade or more. For-profits might have filled a niche, but they aren't the pioneers of distance education as you said. There have been non-profits offering distance education options for decades including the Big 3. The for-profits just had bigger budgets for marketing. That's how they popularized distance education. They also admitted students who would normally be rejected by traditional schools or made to take remedial courses at CCs. My biggest issue with for-profits is that they take advantage of people who can barely read or write and people with learning disabilities.

I have a real life story I heard from one of my students. I teach at a for-profit. We got into a discussion of how to go about getting a peace officer's license if the police department you want to work for doesn't have an in-house academy. I told him about self-sponsoring through AACOG or San Antonio College (a community college) for about $2500. I also told him about the Texas grant that covers half of the tuition at SAC; and that if he had leftover financial aid from attending one of SAC's degree programs, he could use that to cover the rest of his academy tuition.

He gave me that dumbfounded look I'm used to seeing now. He took out $3,000 in loans and his parents took out $16,000 in loans for a certificate in CJ that doesn't directly lead to a job. He told me, "I could have put myself through the police academy for $2500 and be ready to apply for jobs instead of wasting $19,000 on a diploma." Then, we got into a discussion on how much it costs to attend the Alamo Community Colleges. I did explain how the CCs are subsidized by taxes, but he didn't care because I'm sure his parents pay taxes to subsidize these schools. He said, "Wow! $4,000 for an associates degrees which is a higher degree than this $19,000 CJ diploma? I feel duped." He said some other expletives I won't repeat here.

So how did he get into this situation? His mother felt like he needed to do something, so she saw our college on t.v. and made him enroll. No one in his family bothered to check into any of the community colleges, public universities, or even private non-profits in the area. They just thought it was normal to spend $19,000 on a certificate program. This student is also open to attending college online, which he is not doing now. While our college does offer the CJ program online, so do the Alamo Community Colleges.

[Prloko]

For-profits might have filled a niche, but they aren't the pioneers of distance education as you said.

For-profits might have filled a niche, but they aren't the pioneers of distance education as you said. [/QUOTE]

Actually, if you re-read my post (pasted in next sentence), I inferred that they are NOT the pioneers. "The "for-profits" didn't invent the model, but they successfully filled a niche market and in a way legitimized online learning". Perhaps I should have more clearly qualified my statement by saying the "helped legitimize online learning".

[ladylearner]

Sometimes people attend for-profits because of a particular program. I wasn't crazy about Ashford but they have a rare BA in applied linguistics that is usually only available on the graduate level (via distance learning). It combines ESL, linguistics, communication, SLP, fun stuff. And they also have a program that allows you to take grad credits while an undergrad and apply them toward your grad degree in education. I'm still not crazy about the name, but I'm going to give it a shot. If I really don't like it, I will transfer to one of the big 3, at least with some upper level credits under my belt.

Also, I notice the for-profits hold your hand a lot so for someone who doesn't know how (or doesn't have time) to navigate the system, this is particularly attractive.