Steve Gunderson's Interview on C-SPAN on the Role of For-Profit Colleges

Here is a facinating video iterview with Steve Gunderson on for-profit colleges. He talks about graduation rates, those who leave without a degree, federal monies spent, etc.

Click here: For-Profit Colleges - C-SPAN Video Library

He makes excellent points.
:wizard:

 

It was a very interesting video. I think for-profits take a lot of unwarranted heat. If you decided to buy a Ford Focus for $130k would you blame the dealer who sold it to you? I think the for-profits provide a service like any business and the potential customers need to make sure the service meets their needs and financial constraints.


One of the callers (Pete) stated he has a Bachelors in Healthcare Administration and an MBA from the Univ. of Phoenix. He also says he can't get into a Doctorate program because other schools won't accept some of the courses from his Univ. Phoenix degrees because the other schools don't have courses that match. He says his GI Bill paid $40k and he thought that paid for everything but he ended up with $89k in student loans. His two degrees cost $129k total. He says he is out of the military now and can't find a job. He says he has a degree not worth the paper its printed on and is $89k in debt.


How in the world can you not know how much a degree costs or how much money you are borrowing to get that degree?

Do people not do simple math (120 credits for Bachelors X $615 per credit rate = $74k tuition for BSBA from UofP)?

Do people not know their GI Bill only pays $40k and they are borrowing the remaining $34k?

 

You're 100% right -- what kind of a person spends 129k on college degrees without knowing that he's spending that much money?

I took one (1) class at UoP and when it broke my piggy bank, I never went back. The accreditation is fine and the degree is fine, but the cost is simply too much.

 

It reminds me of the people who say their mortgage broker tricked them into buying a house they couldn't afford. Please. These are adults we are talking about. When I was 18 I knew where each and every dollar went and so did everybody else I went to school with.