An article in Sunday’s Times Union written by Catherine Rampell and initially published in the Washington Post should be of interest to anyone with a career in higher education. It paints a particularly favorable impression of the efforts of public colleges and universities on many metrics when compared to their for-profit counterparts.
The assessment is based primarily on a recent report by The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) critical of the efforts of for-profit private colleges; which specifically cites both their low graduation rates, and excessively high default rates on student-loans that they masterfully provide access to. (For example, for-profit institutions account for 12% of college enrollment nationwide, but 44% of college loan defaults; while 2-year public colleges account for OVER A THIRD of nationwide enrollment, and LESS THAN A QUARTER of defaults.) In addition, the article goes on to cite ‘audit study’ data suggesting that employers are much less likely to hire for-profit graduates over public college grads (when all other qualifications are presented as equal).
The mission of The Institute for College Access & Success reads as follows: Working to make higher education more available and affordable for people of all backgrounds. Isn’t that essentially parallel to the mission of Hudson Valley Community College? If you agree, the work of TICAS should be of interest to those of us impacted by the evolving economics of higher education.
If you have a few free minutes, a read of Rampell’s assessment and TICAS’ report will prove enlightening.
Published: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:11:03 +0000 by m.such