FEDERAL LOAN SCAM/COLLEGE BUBBLE
USUARY SLAVES
If you have any positive suggestions at the end (in conclusion) for how to avoid debt, yet still get a vocational training education, that would be helpful. What are alternatives? (i.e.training on the job, experience on the job where 1 yr experience counts year for year for college, employers who will pay for education/training, etc).
This won't be a Special Edition, but will be one article as a part of the HN News Alerts going out on 9/25/11. Summarize, pull it together, give the facts and then your "What does it mean?" analysis of the facts (definitely important to include or you get lost in a forest of factoids). Let's include the "College Conspiracy" YouTube video from National Inflation Association.
Then, I suggest for all the other sources you have found, create a summary list at the end of your article with references to other sources. Perhaps write one sentence for each reference so that person would know what that source will give them.
If you know how to create hyperlinks to make it clean and neat, that would be helpful and save me time. So, for example, instead of giving the long URL address to a web page, you create the Title to the article to that web page, and then make a hyperlink, so when user clicks the title, it takes them to the web page.
1. One that features the movie, College Conspiracy, with your summary and review
2. The other that is your own original research with the facts and your analysis (What does it mean?), and final Summary list of other sources.
For Profit section:
1)Federal Probe Targets ITT Tech--
“the probe might be related to Title IV, a federal regulation that requires education companies to report certain student data related to federal low-income grants to states. According to company regulatory filings, about 68 percent of ITT's 2003 revenue came from federal education aid programs.”
“ITT granted nearly 15 percent of the total number of associate and bachelor degrees awarded in the U.S. in electronics and electronics-related programs in the 2000-2001 school year, the largest percentage of any single institution”
Comment section very enlightening!
2)Race to the Top: coming to a community college near you REALLY GOOD ARTICLE
“the for-profit college industry is taking fire from all directions because a substantial number of for-profit colleges offer aggressively marketed programs of little value in the job market, leaving individuals unable to repay their debts and saddling taxpayers with the default burden.
Simply put, for-profit colleges and universities sell education like hot dogs at a county park event. Their bottom line is profit for this is why they exist and their fiduciary obligations are to their shareholders, where, as in the case of WPO, the owner of Kaplan University, 21% of the stock is owned by the so-called philanthropist, Warren Buffet. To run a school for profit one has to assure that costs are contained and no better way to do this is than in cutting staff, cutting ‘unnecessary courses’, putting training not learning, online, hiring the majority of ‘faculty’ as adjuncts with little or no benefits and no job security or academic freedoms
Learning how to make a living is now the issue, not learning how to live and thus the scramble to dummy down education and turn the enterprise into a diploma mill for occupational degrees is on the rise. As America sinks into a third world economy the answer put forth by many is to simply let education sink right down with it. Forget learning critical literacy, forget studying history or philosophy. The stakes are too high! Turn education into a career track and this will thus allow the ‘middle class’ to once again prosper as they saddle up for a new future – one not of their making
It is saddening to find the for-profit attendants and supplicants eager to give up public education for community college students in favor of ‘partnering’ with for-profit predatory colleges to assure they go down the path of occupational education. Surely no one is arguing that we do not need occupational work; the issue is at what expense, where, for whom and show it will all be subsidized. Destroying public education by allowing it to be swallowed by for-profit universities that trade on the New York Stock Exchange is a crime, not a solution for students.
3)
“backbreaking student loan debt. If not the parent, many teenagers are looking at going into debt similar to taking on a mortgage without even owning a brick and mortar house. Many private schools now charge $50,000 or more per year in tuition and fees. Given that the average annual income for an American worker is $25,000 this one year cost is daunting
the most disturbing development in the last few years is with households deleveraging on mortgage and credit card debt there is a doubling down in student loan debt:
Currently there is over $900 billion in student loan debt and is quickly approaching the $1 trillion mark
Those with a college degree are now seeing higher rates of unemployment as well. The cost keeps going up because these loans are secured tightly to students where debt can be collected similar to tax liens. There is no walking away from student loan debt (at least not as easy as it is with say credit card debt or a mortgage).
The cost of going to college has surpassed every category in the magnitude of price hikes…College tuition and fees have gone up faster than housing, income, and medical care costs which are already stripping bare the balance sheet of American households. While other sectors decline colleges can rest assured their money is secured by the Federal government. The largest source of funding for education is the government
4)Student Loan Nightmare: Help Wanted—
“I was uneducated on the process and on the repayment and now I’m stuck…why aren’t student loans receiving the same attention, same care and forgiveness as every other loan in America?
There is a grain of hope that will come when the Income-Based Repayment Plan, part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, will take effect on July 1. The program will cap off borrower’s monthly payments at 10% of their gross income for 25 years with the rest of the debt being forgiven. However, that only applies to federal loans (which is only one of my four loans).
According to the Federal Education Department, in 2009, the amount of outstanding federal student loans is $544 billion, up $42 billion from last year. Where is our bailout? Where are our options? The default rate on student loans this year is already at 6.9%. That’s a 13% increase from last year”
5)Avoid Loan Delinquency and Default
“The new report primarily focuses on the nearly 1.8 million borrowers who entered into repayment on loans obtained through the (now defunct) Federal Family Education Loan Program in 2005 during their first five years of repayment. It details the rates at which borrowers entered not only into default, but also into deferment (a temporary suspension of loan payments for specific situations such as re-enrollment in school, unemployment, or economic hardship); forbearance (temporary suspensions of a borrower's payments because of financial difficulty made at the discretion of the lender); and delinquency (late payment on a loan).
Overall, only 37 percent of the borrowers in the study managed to repay their student loans throughout the study period without postponing payments or becoming delinquent. Another 7 percent entered into deferment because they re-enrolled in school. A majority, 56 percent, apparently had difficulty making timely payments on their loans.
Examining that 56 percent more closely, the report reveals that 16 percent of the borrowers used deferment and forbearance to postpone their payments and avoid delinquency. More than a quarter, 26 percent, became delinquent but did not default. And about 15 percent became delinquent and defaulted. Overall, an incredible 41 percent of the student loan borrowers became delinquent or defaulted.
students at public four-year and private, nonprofit four-year institutions were more likely to repay their loans on time without resorting to deferment or forbearance and less likely to default than students at public and for-profit two-year institutions and for-profit four-year institutions”
6)For-Profit Colleges Under Investigation
“a recent government undercover investigation of 15 for-profit schools found that all 15 of these institutions engaged in deceptive practices and at four of them recruiters encouraged fraud.”It was an outright lie, a bold face lie,” said Melissa Dalmier, who was told that a University of Phoenix associates degree would allow her to teach in Illinois.
7)GAO to Investigate For-Profit Colleges
“Currently, for-profit colleges account for less than ten percent of total higher education enrollment but account for approximately 25 percent of all Federal student aid disbursements.
The letter ordering the study was signed by Representative George Miller of California, chairman of the House education committee; Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, chairman of the Senate education committee; Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois; and Representatives Timothy Bishop of New York and Ruben Hinojosa of Texas.
8)For-Profit Colleges: Undercover Testing Finds Colleges Encouraged Fraud and Engaged in Deceptive and Questionable Marketing Practices
“Enrollment in for-profit colleges has grown from about 365,000 students to almost 1.8 million in the last several years. These colleges offer degrees and certifications in programs ranging from business administration to cosmetology. In 2009, students at for-profit colleges received more than $4 billion in Pell Grants and more than $20 billion in federal loans provided by the Department of Education (Education). The colleges were selected based on several factors, including those that the Department of Education reported received 89 percent or more of their revenue from federal student aid.
Undercover tests at 15 for-profit colleges found that 4 colleges encouraged fraudulent practices and that all 15 made deceptive or otherwise questionable statements to GAO's undercover applicants. Four undercover applicants were encouraged by college personnel to falsify their financial aid forms to qualify for federal aid--for example, one admissions representative told an applicant to fraudulently remove $250,000 in savings. Other college representatives exaggerated undercover applicants' potential salary after graduation and failed to provide clear information about the college's program duration, costs, or graduation rate despite federal regulations requiring them to do so. For example, staff commonly told GAO's applicants they would attend classes for 12 months a year, but stated the annual cost of attendance for 9 months of classes, misleading applicants about the total cost of tuition. Admissions staff used other deceptive practices, such as pressuring applicants to sign a contract for enrollment before allowing them to speak to a financial advisor about program cost and financing options.
In addition, GAO's four fictitious prospective students received numerous, repetitive calls from for-profit colleges attempting to recruit the students when they registered with Web sites designed to link for-profit colleges with prospective students. Once registered, GAO's prospective students began receiving calls within 5 minutes. One fictitious prospective student received more than 180 phone calls in a month. Calls were received at all hours of the day, as late as 11 p.m.
Programs at the for-profit colleges GAO tested cost substantially more for associate's degrees and certificates than comparable degrees and certificates at public colleges nearby. A student interested in a massage therapy certificate costing $14,000 at a for-profit college was told that the program was a good value. However the same certificate from a local community college cost $520. Costs at private nonprofit colleges were more comparable when similar degrees were offered.
9)Attorneys General In 10 States Launch Joint Investigation Into For-Profit Colleges
“The combined investigation only began within the past two months, but it comes after several state attorneys general launched individual probes of deceptive recruiting practices and possible misrepresentations to recruits regarding federal financial aid dollars.
The multi-state probe is the latest sign that rapidly rising enrollments and an increased reliance on federal student aid dollars by for-profit colleges are attracting greater scrutiny of the industry.
facing intense scrutiny from the federal government due to growing federal student loan default rates at many schools. Although only about 10 percent of college students nationwide attend such for-profit institutions, the schools account for nearly half of all student loan defaults, leaving the government to pick up the tab.
making certain that $25 billion in federal education dollars doled out is being spent in a way that appropriately trains people and prepares them for job opportunities that are out there … That, to me, is a fiscal responsibility issue
He said the investigation so far involves civil violations, not criminal activity. But he did not rule out a criminal prosecution if investigators discover more information
The multi-state investigation comes as the Department of Justice is also stepping up its involvement in litigation against for-profit colleges. This week, Education Management Corp. of Pittsburgh, the second-largest publicly traded college corporation, acknowledged that the U.S. Attorney of Western Pennsylvania had intervened in a civil case that had been brought against the company.
Other states have also intervened as parties in the case against Education Management Corp., which owns schools ranging from The Art Institutes to Argosy University.
10)Journalists Investigate How ‘For-Profit’ Colleges Have Left Students in Debt
“In separate investigations, PBS’ Frontline and WCNC-TV in Charlotte, N.C., aired stories about “for-profit” colleges and trade schools that leave students with a mountain of debt and worthless degrees. Recently, The New York Times and ProPublica also produced stories on the topic.
For-profit schools, especially trade schools, often all but promise that graduates will find work after graduation. But Frontline found that 44 percent of students who defaulted on government loans within three years of graduation attended one of those “for-profit” schools.
11)Race to the Top: coming to a community college near you
“Simply put, for-profit colleges and universities sell education like hot dogs at a county park event. Their bottom line is profit for this is why they exist and their fiduciary obligations are to their shareholders, where, as in the case of WPO, the owner of Kaplan University, 21% of the stock is owned by the so-called philanthropist, Warren Buffet. To run a school for profit one has to assure that costs are contained and no better way to do this is than in cutting staff, cutting ‘unnecessary courses’, putting training not learning, online, hiring the majority of ‘faculty’ as adjuncts with little or no benefits and no job security or academic freedoms.
12)Scam School List
13)For Profit College Scams.wmv -- YouTube vid
14)For-Profit Colleges A Scam? - YouTube vid
15)For-Profit Colleges A Scam? IADT, AIU, CTU, Sanford-Brown, Le Cordon Bleu, CCA, Brooks Institute - YouTube vid
FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION
CEC - Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO)
Federal Government has launched investigations into CEC
If you know a student attending one of these schools please send them this video. It's their right to know, yet CEC isn't telling them.
CEC owns these schools:
IADT - International Academy of Design and Technology
AIU - American InterContinental University
Brown College
CTU - Colorado Technical University
CTU Online
Brooks Institute
Le Cordon Bleu
CCA - California Culinary Academy
Sanford-Brown College
Sanford-Brown Institute
Briarcliffe College - Briarcliffe Online
Missouri College
Collins College
High schools have been eliminating shop, home economics, and any type of class that teaches students how to produce something real and tangible. These life -long skills as well as electrical, sewing, plumbing, etc should be added to our curriculums so that students will be primed to perform services which can be exchanged for goods and other work.
NIA believes it is illegal for the U.S. government to be in the student loan business because the U.S. constitution doesn't authorize it. Just like how the U.S. government created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make housing affordable, but instead drove housing prices through the roof; the U.S. government, by trying to make college more affordable, is accomplishing the exact opposite and driving tuition prices to astronomical levels that provide a negative return on investment.
-- Food Stamps
- Kidnapped- Hospital Guardians!!