research1 - Jessica Gimbel April 7 2011 English 100 Kai...

Jessica Gimbel
April 7, 2011
English 100
Kai Carlson-Wee
For Profit Universities
Applying to a college bears much stress. Thinking about where to apply, where
one will be accepted and whether financial need is necessary are questions that every
senior in high school must consider. Recently, for-profit universities have answered these
questions by saving students from denial of colleges and from expensive tuition bills and
especially because there is no admission application requirement. For-profit universities
are post-secondary institutions that operate as businesses. For-profit schools also allow
students of elementary and secondary levels to get an education through programs known
as educational management organizations or EMOs. For the purpose of this paper, for-
profit universities such as The University of Phoenix, Westwood college in Dallas,
Texas, or Medvance Institute in Miami, Florida, will be the focus because these
institutions are currently under investigation for their controversies. For example, these
universities grant government loans to students who cannot afford to pay for college
themselves. Recently however, research has uncovered that these loans in fact leave
students with heavy debt (Lynch, et al, 2010) and that for-profit universities do not carry
the same prestige that traditional universities do.
Debates on for-profit schooling have forced people to consider what is now
perceived as “higher education” and furthermore, what the value of a college degree is
really worth today. For-profit universities are detrimental to students’ academic careers
because they hinder students’ education by granting a worthless diploma that does
nothing to prepare them conventionally for the work world.

For-profit universities are programs run by businesses. Profit seeking companies
find failing universities to invest in. Once the university goes public for admission, the
investors make big money because they require a fee from each student who enrolls. For-
profit universities boomed in the 1990s, constructing programs where six percent of the
population of the United States was enrolled. For-profit universities cater to students
usually unable to graduate high school. Students normally receive degrees via Internet
education. Many news companies are currently critiquing for-profit schools. For example
PBS station in New York City did a show on the effects of for-profit universities on
students and investors. Their research has evaluated for-profit schools as damaging
because while they do give students unable to get into college a chance at a university
level education, they almost always do so by leaving their students with enormous
amounts of debt (PBS Frontline). For-profit universities do this by ultimately granting
students a costly degree program that does little in preparing them for their work field.