Career Education Corporation one of the bigger players in the for-profit education sales-go-round has fallen on difficult times due to numerous federal investigations and journalistic exposes. They just announced that they were having to close several schools after vainly trying to sell them. Since 2005 CEC has been investigated by the Security and Exchanges Commission, the Justice Department and its Civil Division, the Department of Education and its most valuable asset, American Intercontinental University was put on probation by its regional accreditor. Now, where there is stink, there must be some dead vermin somewhere inasmuch as these agencies, especially under the Bush Administration, do not have that fine a sense of smell. There has to be outright stench for them to notice even a slight odor.
Well the problem of course is a business model that is fashioned after sales techniques a big city Three Card Monty player or a serpent lubricant vendor might employ. See, education is not a "final sale" were you can amber way from the transaction at an exponential pace. The mark sticks around for two to four years and in that time is quite likely to find out the falsity of any misrepresentations made during the sale. Now, you can continue the deceptions, however, it becomes increasingly more difficult and CEC ultimately failed.
CEC purchased many career schools around the nation, some of which were venerable or long standing institutions such as California Culinary Academy, Brooks Institute of Photography, Brooks College, Katharine Gibbs School, Lehigh Valley College and then applied a business model more suited to a penny stock boiler room than offering education which is almost a public utility when you consider its importance to individuals and society at large. Let us hope that they are in the process of rethinking this strategy.
Showing posts with label Career Education Corporation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Career Education Corporation. Show all posts
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, May 3, 2007
For-Profit Education's Admission "Standards"...
Well, they don't have any because they are businesses. If you are running a car dealership and a customer comes in wanting to buy a car and has a driver's license you are going to sell him one! If one comes in vaguely thinking about buying a car you're going to try to sell him (or her) one. If one comes in because he wants to use the bathroom, you're going to try to sell him a car. If they need a loan you will do everything within your power to arrange one. You are not concerned with his driving record or if its the right car for him. The first problem belongs to his insurance agency, the second one to him. That's how businesses operate, that's what they do, they sell things that's the only way they can profit.
Well for-profit educational institutions are like car businesses, and they don't operate much differently. If a student comes in with a GED and wants an education they will sell him one and if he's not sure he wants one from them they will do everything they can to convince him that their education suits him. If ultimately it doesn't suit him that's not their problem.
Ohhh, but for-profit education has a huge advantage over car dealers and other like businesses. They have no worries about customer's credit records, don't need to have a service department and no pesky warranties. The customer always gets the loan regardless of his credit record and the for-profit educational institution always gets their money ... well as long as the customer stays in school. If the customer doesn't like the education and it doesn't end up suiting their needs, well that's too bad, its non-returnable and non-refundable!
Now, under those circumstances, do you really expect for-profit educational institutions to turn customers, ummmm.... students away!!!
Crown College is like that. Students came in wanting an education which they could transfer to a traditional school. What did the admission representatives do, tell them that they could transfer Crown College's credits to a traditional school? Why, because the Crown College makes a profit from each student it enrolls and profit is what concerns them. There has been amble evidence that this is the policy of other for-profit educational institutions. The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article concerning an investigation of Career Education Corporation which revealed that they were very reluctant to turn anyone away. "If you can breathe and walk, you can get into the school," says a professor who wished to remain anonymous."
The Chronicle has talked to credible sources and reviewed documents that strongly suggest that, over the last several years, administrators at the campus here have:
* Regularly admitted students who had not graduated from high school or earned a General Educational Development certificate, and directed many of those students to unaccredited high schools where they could obtain high-school diplomas the very same day.
* Improperly counted as "starts" students who never showed up for class or dropped out before they had completed their first week of courses.
* Encouraged admissions officers to sign up themselves, as well as family members and friends, and counted them as "starts" even if they never actually attended.
* Routinely misled prospective students about the college's classes and programs, as well as about the nature of the institution itself.
University of Phoenix paid a $9 million to the Department of Education to settle charges that it gave admission representatives incentives to enroll students regardless of whether they were academically suited to for the program of study. Moreover, University of Phoenix, still faces a false claims lawsuit which the Supreme Court refused to throw out according to the Los Angeles Times.
A report issued by the department said the company promoted an intense sales culture that rewarded recruiters who encouraged large numbers of students to enroll, even if they were not qualified.
For-profit educational institutions are business regardless of what they might want you to believe and its extremely hard for them not to conduct themselves accordingly. They simply cannot help themselves.
Well for-profit educational institutions are like car businesses, and they don't operate much differently. If a student comes in with a GED and wants an education they will sell him one and if he's not sure he wants one from them they will do everything they can to convince him that their education suits him. If ultimately it doesn't suit him that's not their problem.
Ohhh, but for-profit education has a huge advantage over car dealers and other like businesses. They have no worries about customer's credit records, don't need to have a service department and no pesky warranties. The customer always gets the loan regardless of his credit record and the for-profit educational institution always gets their money ... well as long as the customer stays in school. If the customer doesn't like the education and it doesn't end up suiting their needs, well that's too bad, its non-returnable and non-refundable!
Now, under those circumstances, do you really expect for-profit educational institutions to turn customers, ummmm.... students away!!!
Crown College is like that. Students came in wanting an education which they could transfer to a traditional school. What did the admission representatives do, tell them that they could transfer Crown College's credits to a traditional school? Why, because the Crown College makes a profit from each student it enrolls and profit is what concerns them. There has been amble evidence that this is the policy of other for-profit educational institutions. The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article concerning an investigation of Career Education Corporation which revealed that they were very reluctant to turn anyone away. "If you can breathe and walk, you can get into the school," says a professor who wished to remain anonymous."
The Chronicle has talked to credible sources and reviewed documents that strongly suggest that, over the last several years, administrators at the campus here have:
* Regularly admitted students who had not graduated from high school or earned a General Educational Development certificate, and directed many of those students to unaccredited high schools where they could obtain high-school diplomas the very same day.
* Improperly counted as "starts" students who never showed up for class or dropped out before they had completed their first week of courses.
* Encouraged admissions officers to sign up themselves, as well as family members and friends, and counted them as "starts" even if they never actually attended.
* Routinely misled prospective students about the college's classes and programs, as well as about the nature of the institution itself.
University of Phoenix paid a $9 million to the Department of Education to settle charges that it gave admission representatives incentives to enroll students regardless of whether they were academically suited to for the program of study. Moreover, University of Phoenix, still faces a false claims lawsuit which the Supreme Court refused to throw out according to the Los Angeles Times.
A report issued by the department said the company promoted an intense sales culture that rewarded recruiters who encouraged large numbers of students to enroll, even if they were not qualified.
For-profit educational institutions are business regardless of what they might want you to believe and its extremely hard for them not to conduct themselves accordingly. They simply cannot help themselves.
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