Page 219 - Crisis in Higher Education

190 • Crisis in Higher Education

9.3.2.5 Veteran Education Benefits and General-
Purpose Appropriations

As shown in Table 9.3, the remaining two parts of federal government sup-
port are for veterans and a special allocation for military schools, historical
black colleges, and land grant universities. Veterans’ educational benefits
are an important part of defense spending. Allocations to military schools
are also defense related as they help to prepare future leaders. Special fund-
ing for minority and historically black colleges should continue. Special
funding for land grant universities no longer seems necessary.

9.3.2.6 Problems with Private, For-Profit Universities
For-profit universities receive funds from the federal government but not
from states and local governments. These institutions have major prob-
lems. Table 3.1 in Chapter 3 shows that private, for-profit universities
have by far the worst four-year and six-year graduation rates at 22.5% and
31.5%, respectively. The same rates for public universities are 33.5% and
57.7%. Looking at the six-year rate, public universities are 26.2 points
14
higher (57.7% minus 31.5%), which yields 83% more graduates.
Other problems have been reported. The Atlantic claims that pri-
vate, for-profit institutions have made headlines for poor performance,
high prices, and exploiting vulnerable, low-income students as well as
veterans who often bring with them a rich financial aid package. The
38
New York Times reports that the Obama administration has decided to
bar ITT Educational Services from using federal financial aid to enroll
new students. ITT received an estimated $580 million in federal fund-
ing for higher education in 2015. 39–41 In addition, the U.S. Department
of Education has moved to close the largest accreditor of for-profit col-
leges, which oversaw failing institutions like Corinthian Colleges and ITT
Technical Institute. 42–45 One advantage for state and local governments is
that their funds are not available to private, for-profit universities.
These instances do not mean that all private, for-profit universities have
similar problems, but buyers should beware. The best way to improve
conditions is for consumers to investigate alternatives and chose the best
one. This is facilitated by creating a HEPO database, which is described in
Chapter 6. It should include reliable information about price, graduation
rates, completion time, passing certification and licensure exams, and job
placement.