For-profit colleges

「非営利」ではなく，「営利目的大学」です。営利目的大学は今のアメリカ社会の状況を映す鏡です。仕事を求めても最低，学士号がないとどうしようもない。学士があってもいつlay-offされるかわからないので，修士号を取得しようとする。家庭に入ってもいつ自分のパートナーが失職するかわからないので，資格をupしておこうとする。高学歴，資格社会のアメリカの消費者のニーズにあわせて雨後のたけのこのように増殖してきたキャンパスを持たない営利目的大学。ところがそうした形態の大学への集団訴訟が起きています。少し前まではmail-order universityという社会経験を単位によみかけるタイプの大学が問題になりましたが（日本の週刊誌にも昔は宣伝が載っていました），今度はそれとは少し内容は違いますが，根本は同じです。The Economistがとりあげ，そして今後はUSA Todayが紹介しています。なんとももはやです。（UG）
For-profit colleges under fire over value, accreditation
For Chelsi Miller, the wake-up call came when University of Utah officials said her credits wouldn't transfer from her old school.
Utah's flagship public university accepted her to its pre-med program last fall but said her courses at Everest College, a national for-profit institution with a campus in Salt Lake City, wouldn't count toward her bachelor's degree. That left Miller with a 3.9 grade-point average for an associate's degree that she says did nothing to advance her education and career goals. And, she has more than $30,000 in student-loan debt.
She says Everest misled her when it suggested her credits would transfer and misrepresented what it would cost her.
Miller's claim — which Corinthian disputes — is the latest in a string of actions raising questions about for-profit colleges, whose enrollments are soaring as many Americans beef up their education as a hedge in a tough job market.
In 2008, about 2,000 for-profit colleges eligible for federal student aid enrolled nearly 1.8 million students — an increase of 225% in 10 years. About 9% of all college students now attend for-profits; most attend schools owned by one of 15 large, publicly traded companies that each enroll tens of thousands of students. Last year, federal student loans and grants made up an average 77% of revenue at the five largest for-profits.
Advocates of for-profit colleges say their programs, which often operate online or in rented office space, serve a key role in educating students who juggle work and family demands. But the U.S. government has stepped up its scrutiny amid growing concern that for-profits are reeling in billions of dollars in federal aid by using aggressive — some say deceptive — practices to lure students to programs that might not yield a useful education.
The Education Department has proposed penalizing for-profits whose students graduate with more debt than they can afford, and Congress began a series of hearings this summer on whether federal aid to for-profit colleges — more than $24 billion in 2008-09 — is being put to good use.
"It is our responsibility to ensure that for-profit colleges are putting the needs of students before the needs of shareholders," says Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of a Senate education committee whose hearing Thursday aims to explore the magnitude of the federal investment in for-profits. "We need to learn more about whether students are succeeding at these schools and whether the taxpayer investment is actually benefiting students."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-09-29-1Aforprofit29_CV_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip