Corinthian Colleges, Inc. under long term investor investigation/class action suit

PR-USA.NET is reporting the following:

"According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California the plaintiff alleges on behalf of all persons who purchased or acquired Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) securities during the period from October 30, 2007 through including August 19, 2010, that Santa Ana, California based Corinthian Colleges, Inc and certain of its officers violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing between October 30, 2007 through including August 19, 2010, false and/or misleading statements, as well as by failing to disclose material adverse facts about its business, operations, and prospects.

On August 4, 2010, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee conducted a hearing on for-profit education firms, where Government Accountability Office representative, George Kutz, presented the findings of report GAO-10-948T, "For-Profit Colleges: Undercover Testing Finds Colleges Encouraged Fraud in Deceptive and Questionable Marketing Practices." The report detailed undercover investigations into 15 for-profit schools that uncovered misconduct by school staff. According to this GAO study, the college personnel at schools may have encouraged applicants to falsify their financial aid forms to qualify for federal aid and pressured applicants to sign a contract for enrollment prior to allowing them to speak to a financial advisor."

Click here to read the whole article and click here for the class action suit article

What YOU Don't Know About EVEREST COLLEGE!

Check out this Video on Everest. Enjoy!

NEWS: Teacher Fired for speaking the Truth!

Back in May of this Year Valerie Munson, an instructor for Everest College in Califorina candidly stated that the school is not accredited and cannot certify students in the medical trades. After that incident she was harassed and terrorized by her superiors. She is currently seeking damages for lost wages, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Munson says that when a student asked her if the school was accredited, she truthfully answered that it was not. She said she truthfully said that students would not be certified upon graduation, could not transfer course units, and did not qualify to take continuing education classes.
Munson's students were "enraged and emotionally devastated" at this news, and said they felt they were "lied to during enrollment," according to the complaint.

... Munson claims harassment and retaliation followed. She says her supervisors told her "to put a lid on the whole accreditation thing."
She claims her bosses told her, "You know we cannot have this, because this could have a huge affect on our attrition," according to the complaint.

To see the full story Please click HERE

NEWS: Westwood College campuses in Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas may lose licenses

Check this OUT!

Westwood College campuses in Fort Worth, Houston and Dallas are under fire again, with a state regulatory agency saying the for-profit schools may lose their licenses after concerns about potentially deceptive and fraudulent practices.

The action follows an undercover federal investigation this summer at Westwood and 14 other for-profit colleges. The investigation, by the Government Accountability Office, found that all 15 made deceptive or questionable statements about graduation rates, guaranteed jobs after graduation or exaggerated potential earnings. Four of the colleges encouraged fraudulent practices, such as having students submit false information about their financial status, the watchdog agency reported.

The report said a Westwood representative in Texas coached an undercover investigator to not report $250,000 in savings to qualify for federal aid. Posing as a prospective student, the investigator indicated that the $68,000 cost of the program was affordable. But the financial aid officer said it was not the government's business how much money the applicant had in the bank. "The fraud would have made the undercover applicant eligible for more than $2,000 in grants a year," the GAO reported.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/10/2459261/westwood-college-campuses-in-fort.html#ixzz0zI6DHYVG

We Deserve Better - Nationwide Protest of Proprietary School FRAUD

Nationwide Protest of Proprietary School FRAUD, this event is featured on Facebook... Scheduled to take place at EVERY STATE CAPITOL in the U.S. on October 10, 2010 at 10:00am

If you need more info please check out the group on Facebook click here

Everest Colleges: Get Connected and Where To..

Hello!

I would like to share some links pertaining to Everest Colleges, Institutes and Universities.

Stop Everest University College Institute

Have you attended Everest University/College/Institute and have a complaint? Here is your ONE STOP website dedicated solely to putting a stop to the lies, deceitful practices, and fraud.

In order to file a class action suit against them, there must be safety in numbers. One person will not be able to stand against a large corporation, such as Corinthian Colleges, Everest University/College/Institute.

This will give you insight on what to do first before you can go forward with a class action suit against them.

Class Action Suit Against Everest Universities
This is a group formed on Facebook. It consist of students who are seeking information and wanting to speak out.

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. Stocks are suffering due to Obama Proposal.

Ever since Obama decided to crack down on the For Profit sector by releasing a proposal that would tighten for-profit colleges’ access to Federal Student Aid. Their Stocks have been suffering ever so greatly.

Corinthian College, Inc. Stock Update for 7.31.10

Corinthian College, Inc. is the company that operates and owns all the chain of Everest Colleges and Universities.


http://www.cci.edu/

News: Everest College students angry over certification

HAYWARD, CA (KGO) -- Nearly three dozen Everest College students are furious they haven't received the medical certifications they paid for. They refused to go to class until they get some answers.

Whether they attend class or not, the students have to pay $100.

Some of the students have been attending school for eight months. Three weeks ago they found out that the college does not supply them with a certificate they were told they would get, in order to obtain the medical positions they want.

The students are all studying medical assisting and they paid $16,000 for an eight-month course. They were told the credits earned at the school do not transfer to any community or four-year college and that has many of them angry.

The AAMA told ABC7 that the accreditation the college mentions is one that is given to any career school or college in order to operate. It doesn't mean they can certify medical assistance.

see the whole story please click here

Obama Cracks Down on For-Profit Colleges

The Obama administration released a proposal that would tighten for-profit colleges’ access to federal student aid, threatening growth in the industry that received $26.5 billion in U.S. funds last year.

The proposed rules released today by the U.S. Department of Education would link U.S. student aid eligibility at Apollo Group Inc., ITT Educational Services Inc., Career Education Corp. and other education companies to former students’ salaries and debt repayment rates. The rules may cut off access to federal student grants and loans at about 5 percent of all for- profit education programs, Secretary Arne Duncan said in a telephone call with reporters yesterday.

Students earning two-year associates’ degrees at for-profit colleges had an average student-loan debt of $14,000 in 2007- 2008, about twice that of students at nonprofit colleges, the department said in a statement. While most education companies provide valuable training and skills, high-cost education programs that lead to low-wage jobs are harming students, leaving them with hard-to-pay debts, Duncan said.

“We want to hit the ones at the bottom, those that simply aren’t working for students,” Duncan said in the press briefing. “The 5 percent would frankly be the bottom of the barrel.”

Stocks Decline

Education companies have been hurt as investors have waited for the Education Department to write its regulations. The Standard & Poor’s 1500 Education Services Sub-Industry Index, which tracks nine education companies, fell 13 percent over the past 12 months as of yesterday’s close.

Apollo, the Phoenix-based operator of the University of Phoenix and the biggest U.S. education company, fell 32 percent over the past 12 months in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. ITT Educational slid 20 percent.

If the rules were in effect today, programs enrolling about 8 percent of the students at for-profit colleges nationwide would lose eligibility, the Education Department said. There were about 1.8 million students enrolled in education companies’ programs in 2008, according to a June 24 report from Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Tuition Impact

The rules may hurt Carmel, Indiana-based ITT Educational, Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Career Education and Santa Ana, California-based Corinthian Colleges Inc., because they may not meet the repayment standard and they offer high-priced programs, said Trace Urdan, an analyst with Signal Hill Capital Group in San Francisco. Expensive courses of study that lead to relatively low-paying careers, such as those in criminal justice, may begin to disappear, he said yesterday in a telephone interview.

“You will see some programs being terminated,” Urdan said. “No one’s going to be kicked out into the street, but programs that are no longer profitable at contemplated prices will be ended.”

Under the proposed rules, the Education Department would monitor loan repayments and starting salaries among graduates of for-profit colleges. To remain fully eligible for student loans, education companies would have to show the agency that at least 45 percent of their former students are paying off their student loans, or that graduates pay less than 8 percent of their total income or less than a fifth of their “discretionary income” on student loan payments.

Lose Eligibility

When a program’s repayment levels and debt-to-income ratios both miss those targets, its access to federal student aid may be restricted, the statement said. That may mean that the program would have to limit enrollment growth or warn applicants that the program’s graduates have high debt levels. About 55 percent of for-profit college programs would have to issue such warnings if the proposed regulations were now in effect, the statement said.

Companies would lose their eligibility for aid if less than 35 percent of former students are repaying and their educational debt is at least 12 percent of their annual total income or 30 percent of discretionary income, the statement said. No more than 5 percent of programs nationally will lose U.S. aid access under the regulations during their first year, the department said.

Average annual tuition at for-profit colleges was $14,000 in 2009, compared with $2,500 at community colleges, Harkin’s report said.

Industry Reaction

Congressional staffers who were briefed on the proposed rules said they expected the education industry to fight them. The Career College Association, a Washington-based industry group, didn’t respond to telephone calls and e-mails requesting comment. Apollo company officials declined to comment because they hadn’t seen the new regulations. “Apollo cautions against policy with the potential for unintended consequences that could restrict educational access, limit students’ choices or unfairly disadvantage hundreds of thousands of historically underserved students,” Manny Rivera, a spokesman, said in an e- mail.

Robert Jaffe, a spokesman for Corinthian, Lauren Littlefield, a spokesman for ITT Educational and Jeff Leshay, a spokesman for Career Education, didn’t immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

While the proposed rules are a step in the right direction that may eliminate many abuses of the student financial aid system, the government may have set the standard for loan repayment too low, said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers in Washington.

‘Rampant Waste’

“I defy anyone to say that an institution with a 45 percent loan-repayment rate represents the gold standard,” he said in a telephone interview. “This says something about how rampant waste and fraud and abuse are in this sector.”

While the expectations for repayment appear low, the rules appear to have some “real teeth” in them, said Pauline Abernathy, who oversees policy and advocacy for the Institute for College Access and Success in Washington. Her group will urge the administration to strengthen the regulations in the 45- day comment period that starts today.

“This regulation is plain common sense,” Harkin said in a statement. “If a school can’t show that its students are repaying their college debt and not defaulting, this is a sure sign that the school is failing to prepare its students for gainful employment, as the law requires.”

An earlier draft of the proposal said that starting salaries would be estimated using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The proposed rules instead call for the salary data to come directly from graduating students’ Internal Revenue Service filings, the Education Department said.

‘Actual Wages’

“Therein lies the problem for the sector given that actual wages are generally lower than the Bureau of Labor Statistics data,” said Jarrell Price, an analyst with Height Analytics in Washington who follows the for-profit education sector. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about the income levels of graduates of for profit colleges.”

Federal aid to for-profit colleges jumped to $26.5 billion last year from $4.6 billion in 2000, according to the Education Department. About 96 percent of students who graduated from for- profit colleges in 2008 had taken out student loans, and 24 percent of that graduating class had more than $40,000 in U.S. student loan debt, according to the June report from Harkin.

Taxpayers’ Right

“These schools -- and their investors -- benefit from billions of dollars in subsidies from taxpayers, and in return, taxpayers have a right to know that these programs are providing solid preparation for a job,” Duncan said in the statement. “The rules we’ve proposed today will help ensure that career college and training programs use federal student aid to prepare students for success.”

The government has been determining for-profit programs’ eligibility for student grants and loans in part by monitoring default rates. Those rates underestimate the proportion of students who don’t pay back loans on time, because many receive postponements known as forbearances or deferments. The new rules link a program’s eligibility for federal aid to the percentage of former students who are repaying principal on their loans three years after leaving school, the department said.

By John Lauerman

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-23/obama-cracks-down-on-for-profit-colleges-links-u-s-student-aid-to-income.html

The 411: Nationally Accreditation Vs. Regionally Accreditation

Wikipedia:
Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to the process by which one of several accrediting bodies, each serving one of six defined geographic areas of the country, accredits schools, colleges, and universities. Each regional accreditor encompasses the vast majority of public and nonprofit private educational institutions in the region it serves.

Regionally accredited schools are predominantly academically oriented, non-profit institutions.^[1][2][1][2] Every college has the right to set standards and refuse to accept transfer credits. However, if a student has gone to a nationally accredited school it may be particularly difficult to transfer credits (or even credit for a degree earned) if he or she then applies to a regionally accredited college. Nationally accredited schools are predominantly for-profit and offer vocational, career or technical programs.

College degree program accreditation is important for credibility, quality assurance and various forms of tuition assistance. Since no federal organization has ever been created to accredit colleges and universities, Regional Accreditation is used to determine the quality of college degree programs.

Regional Accreditation Agencies

Regional Accreditation means that a college degree program has been assessed and determined to meet educational standards and public expectations. The list below reveals the six Regional Accreditation agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, www.chea.org and the U.S. Department of Education, www.ed.gov:

• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges

I would strongly recommend when choosing a college or university, you choose institutions that have a regional accreditation. In this way you can be assured that the course work and degree you complete will be recognized by all other colleges and universities, as well as employers.

U.S. to Scrutinize For-Profit Career Colleges

By MELISSA KORN for the Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Department of Education on Friday will propose a measure to penalize for-profit career colleges for graduating students with high debt-to-income ratios.

The proposal, which will undergo a 45-day comment period that is expected to include opposition from industry lobbyists, is an effort to ensure schools are training students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation. It comes at a time when for-profits are under new scrutiny as they capture a growing share of federal student-aid dollars.

"Some proprietary schools have profited and prospered but their students haven't," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "While career colleges play a vital role in training our work force to be globally competitive, some of them are saddling students with debt they cannot afford in exchange for degrees and certificates they cannot use."

Under the proposal, training programs would be judged on whether former students are repaying the principal on federal loans, and the relationship between total student loan debt and average earnings upon graduation. The recommendation sets up three tiers of eligibility, with those in the middle tier facing enrollment restrictions and debt-to-income disclosure requirements, and the weakest tier losing access to federal student aid for new students.

According to the Education Department, if career colleges made no changes, 5% of all programs would no longer be eligible for federal aid and 55% would be required to warn students about high debt-to-income ratios. Many publicly traded schools derive close to 90% of their revenue from federal aid.

The recommendation, known as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, has been a long time coming, with federal officials and industry representatives meeting for a year to discuss new higher-education regulations. The government put forth its first proposal in late January and the stocks of for-profit colleges have soared and swooned since, propelled by rumors of how programs could gain exemption from the regulation.

The Education Department said that this version is "thoughtful," with income calculations based on actual graduate earnings rather than Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. To give time for program improvement, the agency proposed that the 2012-2013 academic year be the earliest that programs could be found ineligible for federal aid.

The Education Department had released 13 other proposals in June but said it needed more time for this one.

"Some key issues around gainful employment are complicated and we want to get it right," Mr. Duncan said at the time.

The earlier recommendations included proposals on incentive compensation for student recruiters, a clearer definition of a credit hour and a new metrics by which students must show academic progress in order to continue receiving federal aid.

The colleges' programs include training for students to work in the culinary arts, as medical assistants, and in criminal justice.

College Corner: Georgia Perimeter College

Georgia Perimeter College is among the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan two-year colleges. With more than 25,000 students, GPC is the third-largest institution in the University System of Georgia. We are affordable, and accessible with four campuses and additional sites conveniently located around Atlanta. We serve traditional students as well as nontraditional and international students. GPC enrolls more freshmen, has more students transferring to other colleges and universities, has more high school Dual Enrollment students and offers more online courses than any other institution in the state.

Tuition:

Residency status: In-state (resident) Out-of-state (non-resident)
Enrolled hours: 1 – 14 1 – 14
Tuition rates: $80 per hour $310 per hour

More info on Tuition


Accreditation:

Accreditation Georgia Perimeter College gained admission to The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in November, 1967. It has also been accorded full institutional membership in the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges.
American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission

College Corner: Valencia Community College

Location: Orlando, FL

College/Tech Name: Valencia Community College

Website: www.valenciacc.edu


With four campuses and two centers in the Orlando area, Valencia is now the third largest of Florida's 28 community colleges. They have several university pre-majors to try on for size, and an A.A. degree that guarantees admission to a Florida state university. They also offer 33 A.S. career programs that give you the option to pursue a bachelor's degree or strut directly into a new career with a job placement rate of 93% – 95%.

Criminal Justice Institute

Tuition & Fee Schedule

Registration Fees *Registration fees are subject to change without notice
Florida Residents (beginning Fall 2009) $87.36 per credit hour
Out-of-State Residents (beginning Fall 2009) $330.88 per credit hour

Accreditation:
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission
Commission on English Language Program Accreditation
Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology

College Corner: Manchester Community College

Location: Manchester, CT


College/Tech Name: Manchester Community College


Website: www.mcc.commnet.edu

MCC offers more than 90 degrees and certificates, with programs designed to fit the varying needs of students. Classes are held days, evenings, weekends, and online, and they prepare students for entry into a growing career field or transfer to a baccala-ureate institution for further study. Articulation agreements with the state’s universities provide ease of transfer and maximize credits awarded. Financial aid is available, and comprehensive packages of grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study opportunities help make an MCC education affordable for all.


Tuiton:





http://www.mcc.commnet.edu/students/resources/media/fallclassschedule2010/index.html?pageNumber=14


Accreditation

New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
National Association for the Education of Young Children,
American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education

College Corner: Pikes Peak Community College

Location: Colorado Springs, Co


College/Tech Name: Pikes Peak Community College


Website: www.ppcc.edu/

PPCC is a two-year college offering associate's degrees and various certifications in Career and Technical fields. With more than 125 programs of study, PPCC has a proud tradition of helping people get a fresh start - a start toward completion of a degree, a start towards a better job, a start towards a better and more enriching life. Statistics has proven that PPCC students who transfer to local four-year colleges do better than students who start at the four-year college. Small classes taught by professors offer an unparalleled experience for undergraduate students.
PPCC offers several options for students who want or need alternatives to traditional on-campus classes: online, hybrid, interactive television and video-conferenced sections.

Pikes Peak Law Enforcement Academy


Accreditation

PPCC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association
American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation

Tuition and Fees 2009-2010

Rates per credit hour

Course Type	Resident Rate without COF	Resident Rate with COF	Non Resident Rate	WUE Rate
On Campus	$ 156.30	$ 88.30	$ 393.90	$ 181.65
PPCC Internet (*N*)	$ 224.10	$ 156.10	$ 246.95	$ 246.95
CCC Online (C**)	$ 224.10	$ 156.10	$ 246.95	$ 246.95

College Corner: South Arkansas Community College

Location: El Dorado, Arkansas



College/Tech Name: South Arkansas Community College



Website: www.southark.edu

SouthArk offers a wide-range of degrees and certificates in health sciences, industrial technologies, liberal arts, and business. For students who want to obtain two years of education and transfer to a four-year college, SouthArk offers the Associate of Arts degree, the Associate of Arts in Teaching degree, and a number of associates degrees with professional emphasis. Programs include, but are not limited to: Nursing, Emergency Medical Technology, Health Information Technology, Clinical Laboratory Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, and Surgical Technology.




Accreditation:
South Arkansas Community College is accredited by the North Central Association of College and Schools. The Higher Learning Commission is part of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college also holds institutional membership in the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), and the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC). The nursing programs are approved by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Allied Health programs are accredited by their respective accrediting organizations: the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services, Office of Long Term Care approves the Certified Nursing Assistant program, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) accredits the Occupational Therapy Assistant program; the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredits the Physical Therapist Assistant program; the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JCERT) accredits the Radiologic Technology progream; the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the EMS Professions (CoAEMSP) through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Pograms (CAAHEP) accredits the Emergency Medical Technician programs; and the Accreditation Review Committee on Education in Surgical Technology (ARC-ST) through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredits the Surgical Technology program. The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence accredits the Automotive Service Technology program.

Tuition
Per Credit Hour
In-District………………………$66
Out-of-District………………$74
Out-of-State…………………$135

College Corner: Mesa Community College

Location: Mesa, Arizona

College/Tech Name: Mesa Community College

Website: www.mesacc.edu

Mesa Community College is apart of the Maricopa County Community College District along with ten other colleges, 2 skill centers and numerous education centers. For over forty years, MCC has provided outstanding transfer, career, ad service programs to the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. With an array of majors to choose from and three campus locations, MCC seems like a great option for any student.

Accreditation:
Mesa Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and a member of the North Central Association (NCA)
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
American Board of Funeral Service Education, Committee on Accreditation
American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation
American Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education

Tution Rates

	General Tuition	Out-of-County	Out-of-State including F1
1 - 6.5 credit hours (per credit)	$71.00	$96.00*	$96.00*
7+ credit hours (per credit system wide**)	$71.00	$312.00†	$312.00†

News: Career College Association Announces NEW Name

The Career College Association (CCA) Board of Directors has approved a motion changing the organization's name to the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU). Over the next few months, CCA will complete the process of changing its name to better represent students, institutions and the sector overall.

"This vote culminates a rigorous, multistep review process," said CCA President Harris N. Miller. "In voting the change, the Board recognizes the evolution of career oriented education from its primarily trade school roots to a multi-dimensional, multi-faceted, multi-modal philosophy of higher education delivery that directly responds to the demands of 21st century students, employers, and the larger economy. The phrase "private sector" is synonymous with innovation in virtually every walk of life, and the public's faith in private sector solutions to solve most of society's biggest challenges will carry over into the realm of higher education too."

The Career College Association (CCA) is a voluntary membership organization of accredited, private postsecondary schools, institutes, colleges and universities that provide career-specific educational programs. CCA has 1,800 members that educate and support over one million students each year for employment in over 200 occupational fields. CCA member institutions provide the full range of higher education programs: master's and doctoral degree programs, two- and four-year associate and baccalaureate degree programs, and short-term certificate and diploma programs.

Source: Career College Association

News: It Appears Reform Is Coming to the For-Profit Education Industry

Reported by: Peter Cohan for dailyfinance.com


A Senate committee will hold hearings on June 24 about the $20 billion in federal student loans that end up going to the for-profit education business. This industry induces many people to take out student loans they won't be able to repay: The students are stuck with the debt, but the money goes directly to the schools, which have been growing in profitably. The industry's revenues are up 26.4% a year, with an average return on equity of 33.5% during the last five years.

The exploitation of people who can't repay the loans is endemic. At the University of Phoenix -- with an enrollment of 400,000, it's the nation's largest for-profit university -- only 18% of students get their degrees in six years. The number drops to 6% at some campuses, and among online students, falls even further to a scant 4%. The many dropouts default on loans "as big as $100,000 for incomplete bachelor's degrees and up to $200,000 for advanced degrees," according to Business Insider.

How Strong is the For-Profit Education Lobby in Washington?

The Department of Education wants to change the regulations governing the for-profit education industry in ways that would seriously crimp that growth and profitability. According to Bloomberg News, those new regulations could be out for comment as soon as next week. Bloomberg reports that these regulations "would cut federal aid to for-profit colleges whose graduates' starting salaries make it difficult to repay their loans as well as tighten rules against tying recruiters' pay to the number of students they enroll."

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hiil, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will convene hearings on the subject before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that he chairs. "We need to ensure for-profit colleges are working well to meet the needs of students and not just shareholders," Harkin's statement said. "We owe it to students and taxpayers to make sure these dollars are being well-spent."

The for-profit education industry has worked with government officials to gain access to new markets. Bloomberg News reported on Apollo Group (APOL) and its efforts to use campaign contributions to influence New York state to let it open a campus there. Interestingly, that case reveals that the for-profit industry does not always succeed.

It's likely that by July, the nation will have a clearer picture of how Washington plans to change the rules governing for-profit education to a smaller, more slowly-growing business -- one that isn't permitted to thrive by taking on students who have no hope either of graduating or of repaying their student loans.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/cDRoia

Video: The Corporatization of Higher Education by For-Profit Schools

This video is short, sweet and simple. It addresses the overly-expensive tuition, questions the quality of education and the debt burden by majority of students at these for Profit Schools.

For-profit colleges reap big benefit from stimulus

www.ajc.com Reports the following:

"Massage and beauty schools, online universities and other for-profit colleges in Georgia and across the nation are cashing in on federal stimulus spending, collecting $2.2 billion in tuition grants for low-income students, public records show.

That represents nearly a quarter of the stimulus money spent on these grants to date.

The taxpayer-funded grants are flowing to profit-making schools as the government is seeking to revise how those schools qualify for federal aid, partly because of concerns over how some saddle their students with substantial debt. The effort follows a federal report that cited abuses in the recruiting practices of some of the schools. "

Stimulus spending

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $17.1 billion in funding for Pell grants for low-income students. About $9.8 billion has been distributed so far. Here are the top five recipients of that taxpayer money.

1. University of Phoenix, $484.2 million

2. City University of New York Inc., $246.5 million

3. University of Puerto Rico, $98.3 million

4. Inter American University of Puerto Rico, $89.2 million

5. State University of New York, $88.2 million

To View full article please go to: www.ajc.com/news/for-profit-colleges-reap-541761.html

My Thoughts: The effort follows a federal report that cited abuses in the recruiting practices of some of the schools.- Ah yes the unethical tactics used by recruiters. They will lie just to have you sign on that dotted line. Do my eyes deceive me? Is that University of Phoenix at number one? Why am I not surprised?

Options: Full Sail University What's the Cheaper Option?

Full Sail University (Winter Park Campus)

Tuition at Full Sail University:

B.S. is maximum $75,000

Or


Attend Valencia Community College for two years:
They have an Arts & Entertainment Programs.
http://www.valenciacc.edu/asdegrees/arts/default.cfm


* Digital Media for Video and Motion Graphics
* Entertainment Design and Technology
* Film Production Technology
* Graphics Technology
* Music and Sound Technology



Tution at VCC:

Florida Residents (beginning Fall 2009) $87.36 per credit hour
Out-of-State Residents (beginning Fall 2009) $330.88 per credit hour
http://www.valenciacc.edu/finanserv/fees.cfm

(Still Cheaper then Full Sail as a Out of State Resident)


Florida has a reputation for a strong statewide commitment to community college transfer. The state’s community colleges have historically been the primary point of access to public postsecondary education. Close to 85% of the state’s undergraduate enrollments are in public institutions, with 55% in 28 community colleges and almost 30% in 11 four-year institutions (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2000)From my research there is a local University in the Orlando area called UCF (University of Central Florida) That has a strong entertainment and arts program as well.


Scenario: If you attend Valencia for two years in Film Production as a resident.

Film Production= 60 credit hours (Amount needed to be awarded Associates) times $87.36 equals $5,241.60 in tuition alone. Let's throw in there 2,000 more for books and other school related needs.


So 2 years at Valencia CC: $7,241.60

Your transfer to UCF to join their BFA in Film or Cinema Studies: $7,000 for two more years in tution alone. At $105.85 per credit hour (60 credit hours) plus $10,000 for other school related needs
http://www.iroffice.ucf.edu/character/current_tuition.html

In this scenario the total cost for a Bachelors would be around $25,000.

STILL A MUCH CHEAPER OPTION THEN FULL SAIL.

College Corner: Central Alabama Community College

Every week I will be submitting information on local community colleges and Tech centers across America.


Location: Alexander City, Alabama

College/Tech Name: Central Alabama Community College

Website: www.cacc.edu

Central Alabama Community College was created by action of the Alabama State Board of Education on February 23, 1989. The College offers Adult Education and the Associate in Science, the Associate in Applied Science, the Associate in Occupational Technology, certificates, and short-term certificates. They have three campuses located in Alexander City, Childersburg and Talladega. They also offer on campus and online courses.


Institutional Memberships
Alabama Community College Association
American Association of Community and Junior Colleges
American Library Association
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission

Accreditation
Central Alabama Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Associate in Science degree, Associate in Applied Science degree, Associate in Occupational Technology degree, and certificates. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Central Alabama Community College.

How Much Will It Cost? Tuition and Fees per Semester/Term Effective Spring Semester 2010
Credit Hours	In-State Student	Out-of-State
1	$104	$189
2	$208	$378
3	$312	$567
4	$416	$756
5	$520	$945
6	$624	$1,134
7	$728	$1,323
8	$832	$1,512
9	$936	$1,701
10	$1,040	$1,890
11	$1,144	$2,079
12	$1,248	$2,268
13	$1,352	$2,457
14	$1,456	$2,646
15	$1,560	$2,835
16	$1,664	$3,024
17	$1,768	$3,213
18	$1,872	$3,402
19	$1,976	$3,591
20	$2,080	$3,780

FRONTLINE (PBS) Documentary- College, Inc.

In College, Inc., correspondent Martin Smith investigates the promise and explosive growth of the for-profit higher education industry. Through interviews with school executives, government officials, admissions counselors, former students and industry observers, the film explores the tension between the industry -- which says it's helping an under-served student population obtain a quality education and marketable job skills -- and critics who charge the for-profits with churning out worthless degrees that leave students with a mountain of debt.- Introduction from PBS.com








Watch the FULL Documentary at: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/




Alexis Avila Founder/President of Prepped & Polished reacts to Frontline's recent episode, College Inc. The Business of Higher Education

Welcome! First Order of Business

"Say NO to For-Profit & Proprietary Schools" is a blog dedicated to covering specific information about relevant subject matters on For-Profit and Proprietary Schools and Education. I strive to provide our blogging community and readers with the most accurate news.

My Purpose of creating this blog was to create a haven for those who has been served a big fat plate of injustice by these For Profit institutes. It is also a place for my thoughts on the subject matter. Welcome and please feel free to contact me.

So what is an For Profit school?

For-profit schools are educational institutions that are run by private, profit-seeking companies or organizations.

What is a Proprietary School?

Proprietary schools are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax monies, their long-term sustainability is dependent on the educational value provided.

Why do you Say No to For-Profit and Proprietary Schools?

Wikipedia said it best:

One problem with for-profit schools is that, being quite new, there have been few systematic examinations of them.

the fundamental purpose of an educational institution should be to educate, not to turn a profit. In 2000, Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, stated: "Educating children is very different from producing a product."

Others claim that because for-profit schools have never been a mainstream idea, no complete blueprint for running a for-profit institution really exists, which could lead school administration to make costly errors. For example, in order to maximize profit, valuable services and activities are often eliminated. Extracurricular activities such as sports teams or volunteer clubs are left with little or no budgeting in order to keep costs low. This loss of non-academic activities might hurt a child's ability to enroll in some colleges or universities later on. The two largest EMOs in operation today, Edison and Advantage, claimed to have high school juniors completing college-level coursework, but recent studies have shown that many of these students are performing at or below the 11th-grade level.

Many for-profit institutions of higher education have national accreditation rather than regional accreditation. Regionally accredited schools are predominantly academically oriented, non-profit institutions. Nationally accredited schools are predominantly for-profit and offer vocational, career, or technical programs. Many regionally accredited schools will not accept transfer credits earned at a nationally accredited school.

Did you Know?

There are more than 3000 for profit colleges operating in the United States.

This is an incomplete list of for-profit institutions of higher education.

Many for-profit institutions are subsidiaries of larger parent companies, such as the Apollo Group, Career Education Corporation, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., and Laureate Education.

• Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California)
• Allied College (Maryland Heights, Missouri and Fenton, Missouri)
• AMA Computer University (Quezon City, Philippines)
• American College of Education (Illinois)
• American InterContinental University (multiple locations)
• American Military University (multiple locations)
• American Public University System (distance education; offices in Charles Town, West Virginia, and Manassas, Virginia)
• Andrew Jackson University (distance education; based in Hoover, Alabama)
• Anhembi Morumbi (São Paulo, Brazil)
• Anthem Institute (formerly the Chubb Institute; multiple locations)
• Argosy University (multiple locations)
• The Art Institutes (multiple locations)
• Ashford University (Clinton, Iowa)
• Ashmead College (multiple locations)
• Banner College (Arlington, Virginia)
• Banner Institute (Chicago)
• Berkeley College (New York and New Jersey; not to be confused with University of California, Berkeley or the Yale University residential college)
• Blair College (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
• BPP College, Great Britain ^[1]
• Brooks College (California; closed in 2008)
• Brooks Institute of Photography (multiple locations)
• Brown College (Mendota Heights, Minnesota), not to be confused with Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island)
• Brown Mackie College (multiple locations)
• Bryant & Stratton College (multiple locations)
• Bryman College (multiple locations)
• Bryman Institute (multiple locations)
• The Bryman School (Phoenix, Arizona and Tempe, Arizona)
• California Southern University (online)
• Cambridge College (multiple locations)
• Capella University (online university)
• Capstone Career College (Tacoma, Washington)
• The College of Westchester (white Plains, New York)
• Collins College (Phoenix, Arizona area)
• Colorado Technical University (multiple locations)
• Crown College (Tacoma) (Tacoma, Washington) (lost accreditation in 2007 and closed)
• Cyprus College (Nicosia, Cyprus)
• Dana College (Blair, Nebraska)
• Daniel Webster College (Nashua, New Hampshire)
• Deaconess College of Nursing (St. Louis, Missouri)
• DeVry University (multiple locations)
• ECPI College of Technology (multiple locations)
• Everest College (multiple locations)
• Everest Institute (multiple locations)
• Five Towns College (Dix Hills, New York)
• Florida Metropolitan University (multiple locations)
• Full Sail University (Winter Park, Florida)
• Georgia Medical Institute (multiple locations)
• Gibbs College (multiple locations)
• Globe University/Minnesota School of Business (multiple locations in Minnesota)
• Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, Arizona)
• Grantham University (online)
• Hamilton College (Iowa) (now part of Kaplan University; formerly operated from multiple locations in Iowa and Nebraska; not to be confused with Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, or with the unaccredited Hamilton University)
• Harrison College (Indiana) (multiple locations)
• Hesser College (multiple locations in New Hampshire)
• High-Tech Institute (multiple locations)
• Heald College (based in San Francisco: campuses at multiple locations in California, Portland, and Honolulu)
• Interboro Institute (New York City; owned by EVCI Career Colleges Holding Corporation; announced on December 17, 2007 that it would close effective December 21, 2007.^[2]
• ITT Technical Institute (multiple locations)
• Kaplan Career Institute (multiple locations)
• Kaplan College (multiple locations)
• Kaplan University (multiple locations)
• Keiser University (multiple locations)
• Kee Business College (multiple locations in Virginia)
• Kendall College (Chicago, Illinois)
• Kitchen Academy (Los Angeles, California)
• Le Cordon Bleu (multiple locations)
• Las Vegas College (Henderson, Nevada)
• Maric College (multiple campuses in California)
• Medical Careers Institute (multiple locations in Virginia)
• Milwaukee Career College (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
• Monroe College (multiple locations)
• Mountain West College (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Multimedia University (multiple campuses in Malaysia)
• National American University (multiple campuses including Mall of America)
• National College (multiple U.S. locations)
• National Institute of Technology (multiple locations, not to be confused with National Institutes of Technology in India)
• National School of Technology (multiple locations)
• Neumont University (multiple locations)
• NewSchool of Architecture and Design (San Diego, California)
• Northcentral University (online university)
• Ohio Business College (multiple locations)
• Olympia Career Training Institute (multiple locations)
• Our Lady of Fatima University (multiple locations in Philippines)
• Pacific Western University (San Diego, California)
• Parks College (multiple locations)
• Pioneer Pacific College (multiple locations in Oregon)
• Potomac College (Washington, D.C. area)
• Rasmussen College (multiple locations)
• Regenesys Management (Sandton, South Africa)
• Remington College (multiple locations)
• Rhodes Colleges, Inc (multiple locations, not to be confused with Rhodes College)
• Rochester Business Institute (Rochester, New York, not to be confused with Rochester Institute of Technology or the University of Rochester)
• Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Ross University (Medical School in Dominica and Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts)
• Salem International University (Salem, West Virginia)
• Sanford-Brown College (multiple locations)
• Sanford-Brown Institute (multiple locations)
• Schiller International University (multiple locations)
• School of Visual Arts (New York, NY)
• South University (multiple locations)
• Springfield College (Springfield, Missouri; not to be confused with Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts)
• Stevens-Henager College (multiple locations)
• Stratford University (multiple locations)
• Strayer University (multiple locations)
• Tooling University, Cleveland, Ohio
• TUI University (formerly Touro University International; online)
• Universidad de las Américas (Santiago, Chile)
• Universidad Europea de Madrid (Madrid, Spain)
• University of Advancing Technology (Tempe, Arizona)
• University of Atlanta (distance education only; not to be confused with Atlanta University Center or Clark Atlanta University)
• University of the Latin American Educational Center (Rosario, Argentina)
• University of Phoenix (multiple locations)
• Western International University (multiple locations)
• University of The Arts (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Vet Tech Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Walden University (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
• Western Business College (multiple locations)
• Western International University (multiple locations)
• Western State University College of Law (Fullerton, California)
• Westwood College (multiple locations)
• Wyoming Technical Institute (WyoTech) (multiple locations)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_for-profit_colleges_and_universities