Are Big For-Profit Colleges Dying?

[sanantone]

I think the media has done a good job of demonizing for-profit colleges. First they tried to demonize online learning altogether, that failed, and then they moved into phase two, attacking for-profits. Your tax status doesn't automatically mean you're a good school or bad school since both for-profits and non-profits have their share of good and bad. Ashford University, for example, could switch to any status it wants, it will still be a crummy operation.

Unfortunately, the public is mostly brain-dead and can't think for themselves, so whatever mass media tells them is what they go with. "For-profits are bad, run!" Then they go to a non-profit, get a substandard education and a wild debt and wonder what the hell just happened?

The media doesn't need to do anything. The stats speak for themselves. When 2-year for-profits are compared to community colleges (these two types of colleges have similar student bodies), for-profit graduates have worse employment outcomes. It just doesn't make sense to spend more for a worse outcome. It doesn't even make sense to spend more for the same outcome.