Are you a student? Or are you a working student? Whether you are still in high school, recently graduated, or have been away from campus life for some time, we all should have that yearning to learn, to have a mindset of a student. Going to an institution for higher education will always yield a profit for the person who attends one. In many cultures, having an education is seen as a way towards a better life. Some people have gone on to study engineering, medicine, law, business, and education to name a few. These are the fields of study that most high school graduates go to school for.

Types of Colleges

There are two other segments of the population who either did not have the chance to get their degree after graduating high school and those who have taken college classes but did not get to complete their study. There are options for those having the desire to continue their education; one is to go to a traditional state college, a private college, and what is known today as a for-profit-college (FPC). The last type of college had once been seen as a trade school.

Comparing the three types of colleges available in a nutshell: Public colleges are state funded, allows a student to stay close to home, affords lower tuition, and requires the student to remain in their home state to avail of the low tuition fees; Private colleges are funded through tuition fees, monetary gifts, alumni funding, and other resources, they have a rigorous vetting process, they have the benefit of name recognition by potential employers, and of course they can be quite expensive.

For profit colleges can be seen as the option for people who want to learn a skill immediately in order to enter the work force as early as possible. FPC’s focus on vocational and technical training, fpcs are ideal for working people who want to improve their credentials and continue with their current employer; faculty is made up of professionals and retired professionals who have had experience in the given area of study, however, the downside is the lack of name recognition by employers.

Preparation

For profit colleges used the “business college” in the past. This is what business colleges did, they prepared the individual to enter into the workforce earlier than if they went to a public or private university. In addition, it takes less time and money for a person who goes to a business, or for Profit College. You do not always get a degree, but do receive a certificate stating that you completed the course requirements. There are some exceptions in which you can earn a bachelors or even a masters degree, and as mentioned earlier, accreditation is nationwide in most fpcs which allows you to transfer some of your credits earned to a public or private college.

The areas of specialization at fpcs are diverse, depending on what is needed in the marketplace. You will find fpcs providing education in the fields of business administration, nursing, law, and computer technology, just to name a few. There was a time when positions needed to be filled in the hospitality industry, and many “business colleges” offered a one-year course and certificate in ‘Hotel Management.’ Some of colleges (fpcs and business) may have a relationship with businesses in the city or state and graduates are often given referrals by the college when applying at those offices.

Benefits

Technological advancements have shaped the direction most fpcs take. Many offer prospective students the option of taking online classes and eventually earning themselves an online degree. At a glance, everyone should benefit from going to an FPC, the student, the college, and prospective employers. The student, because they learn or add to their credentials and skill set, making them a more desirable candidate for a job opening; the college, any successful hiring of one of their graduates will enhance their position as a source of well prepared workers; and the employers, the hiring of a graduate from an fpc will help the company move forward towards growth earlier than later, knowing that their hiring standards had been met.

Pros & Cons

Unfortunately, not all fpcs deliver as promise, and not all graduates are able to land the coveted job they hoped to get. We don’t live in a perfect world. There will be ups and downs, even in the area of education. Here are some numbers to consider; ninety percent of fpcs revenue come through the federal government in the form of Pell grants and student loans; 12% of college students in the USA are enrolled in a for profit college; twenty-five percent of the federal budget for student loans are apportioned to for profit colleges.

More things to consider; those who do enroll at fpcs are sometimes seen as risks in defaulting on their student loan, more than half of those enrolled at 54%; as of August 2011, enrollments at for profit colleges are down 45%.

There have been abuses on both sides of the education spectrum, student and institution, which unfortunately overshadow those have been successful. Because of alleged issues involving recruiting practices by some colleges, as of 2015, the federal government will cut off student aid to For Profit Colleges.

Word on the ground

In addition, the “US Education Department has tightened regulatory control of for profit colleges over the past year, out of concern that some institutions lured students with false promises and heavy handed recruiting tactics and then loaded them up with debt,” according to Daniel de Vise of the Washington Post.

In the same piece written by de Vise, he states that this has led to the creation of a “responsible conduct” standards in which a collaboration of at least 17% for profit colleges have signed off on. The standards include:

• “Admission and financial aid officers must not tell prospective students that there are any guarantees they will graduate, get a job or earn any particular salary. For-profits have been accused of making exaggerated claims about employability and earnings.
• New students must be apprised of the total projected cost of their education, as well as completion and employment rates, before they enroll. Several current and former for-profit students have told me they learned the cost of their education only when the bill arrived.
• Admission officers must tell applicants not to falsify information on aid forms. Students told congressional investigators they were told to lie to get more aid money.
• Colleges should offer new students a money-back trial enrollment period of at least 21 days. Some large for-profit providers have already done this.”

Joe Nocera of the New York Times says, “There is nothing inherently wrong with the idea of for-profit education. The for-profits have flaws, but so do nonprofits, with their bloated infrastructure, sky-high tuition, out-of-control athletic programs and resistance to change. In a country where education matters so much, we need them both.”