Degrees of Deception by Connell Kevin W.;

Author:Connell, Kevin W.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Consistent with this trend, a director of admissions for Herzing’s Madison campus stressed the significant burden of increased debt and default on students in a 2009 e-mail to corporate executives: “We would prefer to see no increases as there is already a struggle for many students. . . . Any increase will make it much more difficult for students to be able to graduate in their programs. This is only adding to the student’s debt without them gaining additional marketable skills/degrees.”[43] Additionally, a director of financial services at Herzing added, “In my experience, and especially lately, the majority of our students cannot afford higher payments. . . . I’m concerned that we will have increased drops and fewer starts.”[44] Despite these pleas, the company disregarded this memo and increased tuition by more than 5 percent.[45]

Similar to this conversation at Herzing, Kaplan executives also discussed the potential consequences of increased borrowing levels as a result of higher tuition: “Increases above 3 percent . . . would cause a disruption in student packaging expectations that would lead students to reduce their class loads, or as worst case scenario, drop from our programs to attend a cheaper program where they could reduce out-of pocket tuition expenses.”[46]

Likewise, an Apollo official reported an “increase in the reason that the student is not returning to school is because they are advising that the price increase/high tuition is preventing them from returning.”[47] It is fairly evident that for-profit administrators are aware of the effect that higher tuition has in raising withdrawal rates. Unfortunately, the data reveals that these claims are likely correct.

Statistics show that among the nation’s worst offenders, 69 percent of students who began at a for-profit college in the 2008–2009 school year left without a degree within a median of 124 days after admission (see figure 6.4).[48] This means that almost 600,000 students left for-profit colleges without a degree in 2010 alone. Further examination reveals a breakdown of withdrawals within each type of program. While 62.9 percent of students in associate degree programs, roughly 300,000 students, withdrew from college, 54.3 percent, approximately 200,000 students, withdrew from bachelor degree programs and 38.5 percent, or 100,000 students, withdrew from certificate programs.[49]

Highest Withdrawal Rates for Associate’s Degree Students Enrolling in 2008–2009.

For Profit Higher Education: The Failure to Safeguard the Federal Investment and Ensure Student Success, Figure: For Profit Companies With Highest Associate Degree Withdrawal Rates, 74.

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