Shady schools make big bank in recession

[digimon7068]

In Hard Times, Lured Into Trade School and Debt
by Peter S. Goodman
Monday, March 15, 2010
provided by The New York Times


One fast–growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for–profit colleges and trade schools.

At institutions that train students for careers in areas like health care, computers and food service, enrollments are soaring as people anxious about weak job prospects borrow aggressively to pay tuition that can exceed $30,000 a year.

But the profits have come at substantial taxpayer expense while often delivering dubious benefits to students, according to academics and advocates for greater oversight of financial aid. Critics say many schools exaggerate the value of their degree programs, selling young people on dreams of middle–class wages while setting them up for default on untenable debts, low–wage work and a struggle to avoid poverty. And the schools are harvesting growing federal student aid dollars, including Pell grants awarded to low–income students.

"If these programs keep growing, you're going to wind up with more and more students who are graduating and can't find meaningful employment," said Rafael I. Pardo, a professor at Seattle University School of Law and an expert on educational finance. "They can't generate income needed to pay back their loans, and they're going to end up in financial distress."

Continued here


Sad, such a self serving society we have these days.

student aid dollars are shrinking, not growing. . .jus' sayin'.

 

[PICK3]

her high school stats teacher doesn't know what Baye's Theorem is

pffffft! What a fucking loser

 

[PICK3]

And I sit on the board of trustees and the executive committee of a university that issues more than 800 teaching certificates per year. I'm vaguely familiar with this subject.

put me down for the 10th grade girl's gym instructor cert

 

[binö]

if plunkey has a 10" cack then he is the complete EF good bro

 

[timtim]

And that is the problem. We've got a system that's more concerned with fill-in-the-blank certifications than it is with real qualifications. My daughter is in honors statistics class in high school right now and 75% of her tests are short-answer text-based questions. It's obvious that her teacher doesn't understand statistics at all, but she's got her "certs". I wanted her to use Bayes' Theorem on her class project, only to find that her high school stats teacher doesn't know what Baye's Theorem is. That must not have been part of the certificaiton process.

Qualifications are a fine way to sort-out job applications or to pre-qualify prospective hires, but that's no way to run a railroad. Our best chemist in the company (and we do a lot of chemistry) doesn't even have a college degree. But that's the beauty of the private sector -- we vote with our dollars. When it's time to put money and reputation on the line, I could give a damn less about a person's certifications. The power of the dollar sees through all that garbage.

my wife has a student teacher right now. change of career at 45 or 46. i think she said hes coming from working at boeing or some corporation that makes jet engines. he cant teach 2nd grade before he does all the requirements. i find that crazy. he built jet engines for 20 plus years but he cant teach 2nd grade.

 

[digimon7068]

No, that's not true. I have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt and an MBA from Emory university. I can't go to the high school 6 miles from my house and teach the freshman algebra course.

The funny thing is, even if I went back and got my teaching certificate, I couldn't teach the mathmatics course since my college degree isn't in mathematics as well (that's a math-specific issue).[/QUOTE]

in PA you just need to pass the math praxis (once you have your certificate) and you can teach math. . .and with your educational background, you would be considered highly-qualified. . .you could get a job teaching math in many rural and many urban school districts in pa, and then work toward your certificate while you're teaching, and (in most instances) the school would pay for the rest of your education or (in the instance of a rural school district) you could borrow the money and then the federal government would forgive your loan (federal loan forgiveness is available for math and science teachers). . .like 33% per year for each year that you work in the rural district.

not that you are considering such a move. . .just wanted to put my $.02 in

 

[PICK3]

No, that's not true. I have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt and an MBA from Emory university. I can't go to the high school 6 miles from my house and teach the freshman algebra course.

The funny thing is, even if I went back and got my teaching certificate, I couldn't teach the mathmatics course since my college degree isn't in mathematics as well (that's a math-specific issue).[/QUOTE]

in PA you just need to pass the math praxis (once you have your certificate) and you can teach math. . .and with your educational background, you would be considered highly-qualified. . .you could get a job teaching math in many rural and many urban school districts in pa, and then work toward your certificate while you're teaching, and (in most instances) the school would pay for the rest of your education or (in the instance of a rural school district) you could borrow the money and then the federal government would forgive your loan (federal loan forgiveness is available for math and science teachers). . .like 33% per year for each year that you work in the rural district.

not that you are considering such a move. . .just wanted to put my $.02 in

for new graduates of high academic achievement non education majors w/o teaching certificates can go this route:

Teach For America - Our mission and approach

for someone of Plunkey's creds we have similar progams to earn a teaching cert while being employed as a teacher, but of course he would have to invest in a bullet proof vest to cum teach in the "Chocolate City"

no racist!

 

[binö]

and yea same deal in michigan digi...so it's not as ironclad as it seems.
the market dictates that it's not feasible everywhere, but perferable.
i see no issue with the certs required, teaching anything does take some skills
not everyone is equppied with. How to org a lesson plan, topics to hit upon, etc...all taught
and learned with the cert and student teaching.
no different than having to take the bar exam

 

[mrplunkey]

if plunkey has a 10" cack then he is the complete EF good bro

10"? In sixth grade maybe.

All bullshit aside, education and health care are my two hot-button issues. It's criminal and disgraceful what we've done in both of these areas.

 

[PICK3]

10"? In sixth grade maybe.

All bullshit aside, education and health care are my two hot-button issues. It's criminal and disgraceful what we've done in both of these areas.

Barry has a plan ... chin up little Plunkey.