August 20, 2008

California Assembly Approves Bill to Revive Oversight of For-Profit Colleges

Berkeley, Calif. — The California Assembly approved a bill on Tuesday that would renew oversight of the state’s 1,700 for-profit colleges, the latest attempt to settle a long-running battle over how strictly the colleges should be regulated.

The 132-page measure, SB 823, was approved in a 43-to-32 vote and now heads to the Senate, the Contra Costa Times reported. The authority of the state agency that previously oversaw for-profit colleges expired on July 1, and lawmakers have been unable to agree on a way to restore it. Without such oversight, students at proprietary colleges are unable to file complaints or to recover expenses if their institutions go out of business.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has not taken a position on the bill.

The argument over for-profit colleges here, which is being watched closely in other states, has stretched on for several years. Consumer groups have argued that students need better protection and colleges need to report more-accurate data about their performance. Companies that own for-profit colleges have argued that bureaucratic red tape has prevented them from offering new programs.

“At least it gives students a place to complain to,” Betsy Imholz of the Consumers Union told the Times. “It’s not all we wanted, but it’s better than nothing.” —Josh Keller

Comments

1. This simply makes sense. Private interests that engage in higher education need to realize that they are creating an obligation to their students, not just selling them widgets. Students need a way to make sure those private interests fulfill their obligations.

   — Al    Aug 21, 10:48 AM    #

2. where do students go to complain if they attend public or non-profit institutions?

   — DC    Aug 21, 10:57 AM    #

3. Re #2, if students have a complaint about any accredited public or non-profit institution, they can go to the accreditation body for that particular institution. In California, the majority of public and non-profit institutions are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or WASC (www.wascweb.org).

   — Mina    Aug 21, 11:05 AM    #

4. All WASC will do is file the complaint and review it the next time the school comes up for review. They make it clear that they will not interven on behalf of a student.

   — David    Aug 21, 12:34 PM    #

5. At last! It has to be recognized that “selling” an educational degree (i.e., marketing a degree by a for-profit institution) is not like selling an auto or a TV set in which only the consumer must be satisfied with the product. Of late too many of the for-profits have “sold” an impressive credential to their customers who did little work and learned less, but were quite satisfied because that credential got them a job or a promotion. It was the employer or the public that suffered the wrong.

   — Socrates    Aug 21, 12:42 PM    #

6. Re # 3; please note that there are for-profit WASC accredited universities offering quality degree programs. They are regulated by the US Department of Education as well…

   — Rafael    Aug 21, 12:47 PM    #

7. There also are many for-profit institutions that are accredited by other agencies that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and CHEA. National accreditation in many ways is far more rigorous than regional accreditation, and these agencies actively investigate complaints filed by students, including the fairly significant number of which have little merit.

   The vast majority of accredited for-profit institutions offer quality educational programs and provide real alternatives to students. Some of these schools of course provide a better education than others, just as some regionally accredited and/or non-profit institutions are better than others. The distinction between good and bad schools, however, is much more closely correlated with whether the school is accredited than with regional vs. national accreditation or profit vs. nonprofit status.

   Students in California would be much better served if the state focused its attention on shutting down illegitimate diploma mills and shoddy unaccredited schools and stopped trying to strangle legitimate accredited institutions, whether or not operating for profit, that are providing quality services. That would be a much better use of the California taxpayers’ money.

   — RS    Aug 21, 01:11 PM    #

8. Isn’t the real question about how we all serve the student? for profit institutions are required to report cohort completion and placement data to their accreditation agencies. Our missions are to educate for a career that we gladly help them find through our career services departments. I do not see that happening at the community college or university levels. Perhaps we should all be judged by the same standards then let the critics come forward. I’ll bet the silence from the nonprofit side would be deafening!

   — EQ    Aug 22, 10:00 AM    #

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