[agzg]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

There's so much scamming going on with some of those for-profit universities. There are a lot of stories about schools fudging FAFSAs to increase Pell Grant amounts, which is money in the bank to them. It's just a hot mess. They often hide behind "accreditation," which doesn't really mean that much since there are so many accrediting bodies.

Kaplan University and University of Phoenix both have regional institutional accreditation. There are only six of them, broken up by geographic area, and are the same six that accredit all public four-plus-year universities as well as most community colleges. When you're talking institutional accreditation, it's the best you can get. And they work hard to maintain that accreditation. I think where you're thinking there are "so many" would be national accrediting bodies, which are typically for two-year and technical/vocational schools. If you're getting a mechanics certificate or certified nurses aide, you're probably at a school that's nationally accredited (if it's a decent school - others aren't accredited at all and you really need to watch out for that).

If you're talking programmatic accreditation, that varies. Not all programs are have a programmatic accreditor, and some have many different ones that vary in terms of the rigorous nature of the program. For example, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) for all Dental programs (meaning Dental Assistant through DMD) is A. Required for graduates in many states for licensure and entry-level positions and B. a very rigorous accreditation process, with lots of work to maintain that accreditation. Typically, a Dental Assistant graduate from a for-Profit college versus a community college will have the same skillset and be equally prepared for a career as a dental assistant.

Originally Posted by littleowl33

The Chronicle has also reported that while for-profit online programs (particularly at the undergraduate level) are not as difficult to start (what with constant rolling admissions and the ease of attending "in your PJs"), they are very difficult for many students to finish. Their graduation rates are pretty poor. However this could be correlation, not causation, since many students chose online coursework because they already have very busy lives that make attending a traditional program difficult.

It's correlation, more than likely.

A while ago there was a study reported by the Department of Education that listed 7 risk factors for students who drop out:

1. Being an independent student (students who receive no financial support from their parents.
2. Working full time.
3. Having dependents.
4. Single parents.
5. Delaying entrance to college after high school.
6. Not having a traditional HS diploma (having a GED, "modified" diploma, or no diploma at all).
7. Attending college part time.

The overwhelming majority of the student population at a Kaplan or a Phoenix hit 4 of the risk factors on average.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

^^^^This is so true, particularly if you're going into the education or other fields requiring state licensing (eg. counseling and such.)

Some states will not accept degrees for licensure requirements if they're from Kaplan/Phoenix/etc. Onine courses via actual schools apply (ex: online coursework from KSU/Case/etc), though.

This really widely varies by state. Folks hoping to go to schools like Kaplan or Phoenix should do additional research on their own into state licensure requirements and realize that the schools are more than likely based and accredited in a state where they don't live. Phoenix is Arizona while Kapan is Iowa.

Just like there's a lot of misinformation one way in favor of for-Profit schools, there's a lot of misinformation out there against them, as well. There have been a number of folks who even testified to Congress that have made misleading statements, particularly the guy who's a shortseller and stood to gain a lot by a rapidly decreasing stock price (I think he was the first to testify). There have also been a lot of misleading articles in the press.

All good stories and bad stories should be taken with a huge grain of salt.