DJ NY Tightens Rules Amid Problems With For-Profit Schools
NEW YORK (AP)--As for-profit schools across the country face allegations from financial aid fraud to flimsy academics, New York state has decided to put the brakes on the rapidly growing sector of higher education.
The state Board of Regents recently said it will not consider applications from new degree-granting for-profit schools until it reviews its approval process and has a better sense of the problems the schools face.
The decision comes in the wake of a flurry of reports about problems.
In New York, one school was accused of cheating to get more student aid money, and another was ordered shut down because of poor academics. In Kentucky, Decker College, a for-profit school previously headed by New York gubernatorial candidate William Weld, is being investigated for alleged misuse of the federal student loan program. Reports of problems at commercial schools in California and Florida also have crept up.
"We believe there are many high-quality proprietary colleges in New York state," said Johanna Duncan-Poitier, deputy commissioner for higher education and the professions. "But there were many red flags - spiraling enrollments, student complaints, financial aid disallowances, unacceptable graduation rates and so forth."
The New York freeze has grabbed the attention of supporters and skeptics of for-profit schools because the state already has some of the country's strictest regulations governing such institutions. A move to enact changes might prompt other states to follow, observers said.
"If problems are happening in New York, where this industry has been supposedly well-regulated, then the problems in other states are almost certain to be worse," said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
Gov. George Pataki also has suggested reforms, including requiring students to take a minimum 15 credit hours instead of 12 to qualify for state financial aid, something critics say will hurt low-income students.
For-profits include everything from beauty schools to colleges that grant degrees, including advanced ones such as a master's in business administration. Many are small, privately owned operations, but in more recent years some have emerged as publicly traded corporations.
At Interboro Institute in New York, the state says an undercover investigation found instances where school officials cheated to help enroll more students and make sure they were eligible for financial aid. Interboro, which operates throughout the New York City area, has been told to take several measures, including restricting enrollment.
Officials with EVCI Career Colleges Holding Corp. (EVCI), Interboro's parent company, say an outside firm found no basis that top management had a role in any improprieties, and that any violations were isolated cases.
Interboro, a business-centered school, had about 800 students at one campus in spring 2000; that grew to 4,500 at four campuses by fall 2004. "The fact that we grew so fast is testament to the fact that there's such a great need in New York to provide a quality education," said EVCI chief executive John McGrath.
The school's Washington Heights campus consists of maroon brick office space at the bottom of an apartment tower, along with space in nearby buildings, including a Pentecostal church. Outside, a group of students offered mostly praise for the school.
"A lot of people who come to this school are dropouts, a lot of single mothers," said Mario Collado, 23, who is earning his GED while studying for an associate's degree in business management. "They're trying to better themselves."
Leaders of for-profit colleges say problems can be found in every sector of higher education, not just theirs.
"Those of us who do things properly are as upset about what is being reported as anyone," said Ellen Hollander, president of the Association of Proprietary Colleges, which represents degree-granting commercial schools in New York. "We strongly encourage the regents to take action to prevent abuses."
State officials say they are sensitive to the fact that for-profits often serve an economically disadvantaged student population, but they also worry that those students may be the most vulnerable victims of corrupt schools.
Asked if the state has failed in its monitoring of for-profits, Regent Merryl Tisch said: "A rotten apple doesn't spoil the barrel. By and large many of these institutions are really doing very credible work."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 11, 2006 03:43 ET (08:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 03 43 AM EST 02-11-06 |
