Crown College in Tacoma, WA sued over credit transfer

An article in today's (2/24/06) Seattle Times details the story of some students suing Crown College over allegedly being misled that their credits would transfer to accredited institutions: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002825617_crown24m.html

The most interesting thing in the article to me was the cost: $ 15,000 for an associates and $ 30,000 for a bachelor's at Crown College, equalling $ 250/credit hour. The article notes that earning an associate's at Tacoma Community College would cost $ 3,600. I guess there is big money to be made in the vocational/technical training area.

 

Vocational and technical training schools have always been a money-maker for the owners. The relatively low overhead costs and the typically fast graduation times can only mean profits are assured.

In Canada, the tuition/fees for most private vocational/technical schools is tied directly to the amount of money an unemployed person will receive from the government. That is, if the school knows the government is willing to pay $5,000.00 for a 6-month computer technician training programme, the school sets their tuition/fees at $5,000.00, since the student will also be receiving unemployment payments from the government to cover living/existence costs while enrolled in the programme. In the US, the situation seems a little different though since the schools award associate degrees rather than diplomas and hence the training takes more months to complete.