Loan Default Rates at Prominent Online Universities

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It will give you a good view into the inner workings of the for-profit universities
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getitplugin of IN 6:32AM October 29, 2012

My coworker did not work for a "loser" company, which is precisely why I was so disappointed with this school calling up the person at work. Had Kaplan called up a bunch of people who work at...say...Kaplan, or U Phoenix, that would be one thing, but instead, they called up a very prestigious brand name employer with a sleazy robo-call. Apparently, they can't even hire their own students to work in the offices dealing with account issues.
This person is a single mother who seriously COULD NOT attend a traditional campus, and so the person enrolled, hoping to get to a higher pay level (I never said the company was a loser company at all, nor do I think it is, or I would never have applied, myself). What is outrageous is the nerve of this school, as well as others like it, seriously behaving in such a sleazy manner as to robo-call a SINGLE WORKING MOTHER, and to do this AT WORK.
Who is defending this school with the outrageous loan default rate? "Admissions advisers" at one of the for-profits, or something? This is a serious ethical issue with these schools going forward, post-recession. This nation cannot afford to see more people financially ruined than already faced it during the recession. To lure in working moms with high hopes, only to sleaze it all up by having a recorded robo-call pester the wrong person at the workplace is beyond belief.
Hopefully, as new (better) programs from the non-profit schools repair the reputation of distance learning for those who seriously just cannot attend, the worst of these for-profits will just be out of business.
Shame on any school that cannot hire a real human to make a personal phone call to be sure they got the message to the correct person. Shame on them.
And I stand by my opinion that the for-profits are behaving like sleazeballs.
Thumbs up to the GAO for coming down hard on them. It's about time.

Saddened of IL 11:51PM September 18, 2010

So you start off by telling people that one of your coworkers got sucked into "loser" Kaplan, and how you didn't attend one of those "loser schools." Then you finish up by saying that a person went to a non-profit, they might actually be able to find a decent job. What are you trying to say about yourself? You and your "loser school" coworker both work for the same company.
Hopefully, instead of pointing fingers stating how bad these schools are, people will realize that students make individual choices and that success after college is driven by motivation and desire. Good luck to all.

James of GA 8:07AM September 17, 2010

It will give you a good view into the inner workings of the for-profit universities.

ArizonaScholar of AZ 9:49PM September 16, 2010

Although I DO NOT attend a loser school, at all, one of my former coworkers got sucked into this mess with Kaplan (a single mother trying to manage a FT job while raising a daughter and going to school).
This school robo-calls people at whatever number was supplied as the work number, but there isn't even a live human at the other end to be sure the correct person is getting the message.
Imagine answering a phone in a department, knowing which of your coworkers enrolled at that online school, and then hearing a recording asking that person to call regarding tuition, or regarding an account number.
For the love of God, at least get the exact person you're calling on the phone prior to letting that person's department know there's an issue with the account.
This person is basically...well...rhymes-with-glued, financially, now.
While half those students are simply unable to do good research, there are many others who may be the first in a family to go to college, or may not comprehend the language and complexity of American life quite as well as others, or they came from disadvantaged communities. In short, they just may not be expected to know better. At the very least, there should be information given to them at the outset, such as the findings in this recent report on default rates.
Looking at the data, it should be pretty obvious that the best institutions to attend (to be employable enough to pay off the loans) are private schools, followed by public schools, but most importantly, they should be non-profit schools if at all possible to find some way to attend.
This is an absolute disgrace, this sub-prime student loan scandal. These schools (for profits with high default rates) know full well that their grads (or non-grads, if they didn't finish) are not taken as seriously in the job market, but post-recession, it is nothing short of...well...it's practically criminal that some of these schools are even allowed to operate at this point.
End this disgrace and shut the worst of them down. The non-profit programs can better deliver quality course content, whether online, in class, or via a "blended" program (partial in-class, partial online). And at a non-profit, a graduate might actually be able to find a decent job.

Saddened for a former (very naive) coworker trying to get somewhere in life of IL 8:23PM September 16, 2010