Wednesday, December 15, 2010

For Profit College on Probation

It was only a matter of time before a plunging economy and employment scene mixed with an irrational emphasis on college and bachelor degrees for everyone would lead to a corruption of higher education. In Colorado it has become an issue as the state looks at for-profit universities who are misleading applicants in terms of the "value" of high priced degrees. Recently, the state of Colorado put Westwood College on probation after it became clear that recruiters and advisers at the school were misleading students about their credentials and job prospects after graduation. Westwood seems to be developing a reputation for this problem, and their online programs have actually been banned in Wisconsin and Texas. This corrupt business practice is a problem that is only going to get worse if we continue the "college-for-all" and the "college-as-the-key-to-all-our-problems" mentality.

2 comments:

Paul Swendson said...

I often wonder about the grading standards at for profit universities. It seems that there would be an incentive to be easy in order to please the clientele and attract continuing students. Hopefully, we will not reach a point where a Bachelor's Degree has as little value as the high school diploma today.

mmazenko said...

That incentive already seems to exist at most colleges - some are highly selective, but many clearly let students in who are not and then profit off the remedial classes they require of the students - for no credit.

Many bachelor's degrees are of little value, other than as a gatekeeper. Because so many people can't actually earn the degree, employers use the degree as a marker for people who can actually accomplish tasks that require higher level and abstract thinking.