For-Profit Colleges: Neither Educationally nor Economically Equivalent
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| Title: | For-Profit Colleges: Neither Educationally nor Economically Equivalent |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Tucker, Frederick |
| Source: | Research in Higher Education Journal. May 2021 40. |
| Availability: | Academic and Business Research Institute. 147 Medjool Trail, Ponte Vedra, FL 32081. Tel: 904-435-4330; e-mail: editorial.staff@aabri.com; Web site: http://www.aabri.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 15 |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Two Year Colleges |
| Descriptors: | Proprietary Schools, Colleges, Outcomes of Education, Student Loan Programs, Debt (Financial), Public Colleges, Probability, Graduation Rate, Two Year Colleges, Bachelors Degrees, Associate Degrees, Federal Aid, Grants, Educational Legislation, Federal Legislation, Higher Education, Wages, Postsecondary Education, Student Characteristics |
| Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: | Stafford Student Loan Program, Pell Grant Program, Higher Education Act Title IV |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study |
| ISSN: | 1941-3432 |
| Abstract: | Deregulation of for-profit colleges led to a precipitous rise in enrollments from 1990 to 2010. Since 2010, regulation, investigations, and sanctions have led to enrollment declines in for-profit postsecondary institutions. Initially barred from receiving Title IV federal funds, in the form of Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, for-profit colleges gained access to Title IV funds in 1972 on the grounds that these institutions were educationally equivalent to, or more economical than public and non-profit institutions. This paper examines Beginning Postsecondary Student longitudinal data from 2012/17, utilizing regression analyses to determine whether the for-profit college sector produces similar educational outcomes and student loan debt compared to the public higher education sector. Findings indicate that degree-seeking students enrolling in 2-year programs at for-profit colleges have approximately half the odds of degree attainment as demographically similar students at public colleges; students entering 4-year, for-profit programs have approximately a quarter the odds of achieving a bachelor's degree as their public college counterparts. Students at for-profit colleges, moreover, take on significantly greater student loan debt than demographically similar students at public colleges. Federal funds might better be spent subsidizing under-funded, overcrowded public colleges than enabling America's most disadvantaged students to incur debt at for-profit colleges that are neither educationally nor economically equivalent. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2021 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1296449 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Deregulation of for-profit colleges led to a precipitous rise in enrollments from 1990 to 2010. Since 2010, regulation, investigations, and sanctions have led to enrollment declines in for-profit postsecondary institutions. Initially barred from receiving Title IV federal funds, in the form of Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, for-profit colleges gained access to Title IV funds in 1972 on the grounds that these institutions were educationally equivalent to, or more economical than public and non-profit institutions. This paper examines Beginning Postsecondary Student longitudinal data from 2012/17, utilizing regression analyses to determine whether the for-profit college sector produces similar educational outcomes and student loan debt compared to the public higher education sector. Findings indicate that degree-seeking students enrolling in 2-year programs at for-profit colleges have approximately half the odds of degree attainment as demographically similar students at public colleges; students entering 4-year, for-profit programs have approximately a quarter the odds of achieving a bachelor's degree as their public college counterparts. Students at for-profit colleges, moreover, take on significantly greater student loan debt than demographically similar students at public colleges. Federal funds might better be spent subsidizing under-funded, overcrowded public colleges than enabling America's most disadvantaged students to incur debt at for-profit colleges that are neither educationally nor economically equivalent. |
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| ISSN: | 1941-3432 |
