By the Numbers - March 25, 2013
37% and 50%
The percentages of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funds, respectively, that go to for-profit colleges, according to an investigative report from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee last year, spearheaded by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). According to a press release accompanying the report:
Taxpayers are investing more than $30 billion a year into companies that operate for-profit colleges, including 25% of Department of Education student aid funds, 37% of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and 50% of Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funds. Among the 15 publicly traded for-profit college companies, the total of these sources accounts for 86% of revenues.
The report said most for-profit colleges charge much higher tuition compared to similar courses offered by public community colleges and flagship state universities -- on the average, four times as much for associate degree or certificate programs and 20% more for bachelor's degree programs. Virtually all students attending for-profit colleges end up with some student debt, whether or not they complete their education, and they account for a high percentage of student loan defaults.
Students who attended a for-profit college accounted for 47 percent of all Federal student loan defaults in 2008 and 2009. More than 1 in 5 students enrolling in a for-profit college-22 percent-default within 3 years of entering repayment on their student loans.
According to the investigation, of the top 10 educational institutions receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill funding, eight are for-profit colleges, "even as students attending colleges operated by these companies have a one year drop-out rate of almost 60%."
37% and 50%
The percentages of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funds, respectively, that go to for-profit colleges, according to an investigative report from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee last year, spearheaded by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). According to a press release accompanying the report:
Taxpayers are investing more than $30 billion a year into companies that operate for-profit colleges, including 25% of Department of Education student aid funds, 37% of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and 50% of Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funds. Among the 15 publicly traded for-profit college companies, the total of these sources accounts for 86% of revenues.
The report said most for-profit colleges charge much higher tuition compared to similar courses offered by public community colleges and flagship state universities -- on the average, four times as much for associate degree or certificate programs and 20% more for bachelor's degree programs. Virtually all students attending for-profit colleges end up with some student debt, whether or not they complete their education, and they account for a high percentage of student loan defaults.
Students who attended a for-profit college accounted for 47 percent of all Federal student loan defaults in 2008 and 2009. More than 1 in 5 students enrolling in a for-profit college-22 percent-default within 3 years of entering repayment on their student loans.
According to the investigation, of the top 10 educational institutions receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill funding, eight are for-profit colleges, "even as students attending colleges operated by these companies have a one year drop-out rate of almost 60%."