By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
Operators of for-profit colleges hit the jackpot: They’re reeling in millions of adults seeking training in fields such as nursing or information technology, who see the schools as their last, best chance to snag a decent job. But the reality is the schools grow rich on billions in federal dollars while students graduate with enormous debt and no job prospects.
A U.S. Senate committee headed by Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) recently laid out the facts of the for-profit college world after a two-year investigation that is thorough — and damning. Most of the annual $32 billion in federal funds the schools rake in goes toward marketing and recruitment — not the classroom. Many of the courses lack rigor and support services for students are meager. They cost, on average, about four times as much as similar courses at public universities and community colleges. Average annual salary of the executives leading the 30 companies reviewed in the report: $7.3 million.
Two New Jersey institutions, Lincoln Education Services in West Orange and Med-Com Career Training/Drake College of Business in Elizabeth, came in for scrutiny. Lincoln has struggled with high withdrawal rates and loan defaults; Drake, which notoriously recruited homeless students, had the highest default rate of the 30 companies examined by the committee.
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