Marathon Pundit: For-profit schools a good bargain in tough times--especially for veterans

Thursday, October 13, 2011

For-profit schools a good bargain in tough times--especially for veterans

US Navy Marathon Team,
Chicago Marathon

Oh dear, it seems for-profit colleges are getting knocked again, this time by the Roanoke Times. As I've written before, for-profits--also known as career colleges--are more nimble than even community colleges in adapting to creating courses in emerging professions. They're ideal for veterans transitioning to civilian life and for anyone looking to change careers.

Are they more expensive than community colleges? Yes, but of course for-profit colleges are not taxpayer subsidized.

In response to the Times' attacks on the schools, Chuck Steenburgh, a GI Bill recipient who is now a communication director at a for-profit college, brings some levity to the conversation.

According to a recent study conducted by Robert Shapiro, former undersecretary of commerce for President Bill Clinton, titled "Taxpayers' Costs to Support Higher Education," public colleges cost the taxpayer nearly 50 percent more per enrolled student than proprietary colleges, even after accounting for the total cost of government-subsidized loans to students.

When you factor in public community colleges' low graduation rates, the cost to taxpayers is as much as 250 percent more per associate degree graduate.

The article also charges private-sector institutions with a "track record of poor student outcomes." The claim is ambiguous, perhaps because when looking at the facts, it's largely unsubstantiated.

In terms of overall graduation rates, Virginia's career colleges graduate nearly 60 percent of our students, in comparison to Virginia's community colleges, which have a graduation rate of less than 20 percent. What's more, in Virginia, 83 percent of graduates from career colleges obtained employment within six months of graduation.

When we discuss the costs of educating our armed service members, it is important to note that the costs paid at private-sector colleges go toward providing these men and women career training in high-demand fields, through short-term programs and flexible schedules and course delivery methods that work with veteran students' work and family lives.