For-profit colleges: 10% of students, 25% of Pell Grant & Stafford Loan money

[Hannah Bell]

The execs of the for-profit college scam are scurrying around like fat cockroaches as the light bulb in Washington finally is turned on the feeding frenzy that W. unleashed during his reign of corporate terror. Though these diploma mills enroll only 10 percent of the student population, they drain off 25 percent of the Pell Grant dollars from the federal treasury, most of which are never repaid by poor students without chance in hell of getting a decent job with the worthless degrees that the for-profit charlatans offer. From the LA Times:

Overall, the repayment rates at these for-profit schools was only 36% in fiscal 2009, according to an analysis of the data conducted by the Institute for College Access and Success, a student-advocacy group. By comparison, the repayment rate at private nonprofit schools was 56%, the group found. At public state colleges and universities, the rate was 54%.

Losing federal aid would effectively put many programs out of business: Some for-profit colleges rely on such funding for nearly 90% of their revenue — the maximum percentage allowed by the federal government.

Although just 10% of college students attend for-profit schools, the schools collect nearly 25% of the $24 billion the government allocates each year to fund Pell grants and Stafford loans.

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/

[mediaman007]

1. Let's see if we can do the same thing to K-12 education!

May I present: "No Child Left Behind" and "Race to the Top."

[blindpig]

2. That's what I call due diligence.

Bonus ahoy!

[uncommon]

3. A lot of the people who get sucked into these need the flexibility that online

schooling offers - a lot of them are older, have families and financial burdens and need financial aid.

More non-profit colleges should offer online classes and programs - people would rather go to the University of Massachusetts than the University of Phoenix - they just get sucked into the easier option.