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Thread about Accredited Colleges/Schools - School Loans - and Oppressive Debt Resulting From Them - - on New MT Board

Posted: Jan 07, 2012

There's an interesting thread on the New MT board about accredited schools, school loans, and oppressive debt students are facing. I did a search today and there are dozens of articles talking about how students are thousands of dollars in debt for student loans when the education they got was so poor that they can't find a job at all. Others can find a job, but it will take 20-30 years for them to pay back the student loans. They went to those schools because they got pressured by the salesmen into thinking it was great and because they can get financial aid.

The sales rep gets paid if he enrolls the student, so he/she gets money. The school gets their money.

Google "Colleges being investigated" or go to almost any of the news web sites to see some of those articles. Apparently the Department of Education is trying to do something about it, but in the meantime, students are being hurt.

This is why I am - Suspicious

[ In Reply To ..]
This has been going on for years, but has skyrocketed with online education. In the past, schools had to open local sites. Now, online formats and resources are so easy to put up that these scam operations are sprouting up at an alarming rate.

All you need is a website and the online course modules that book publishers create. You don't even need faculty and it is doubtful if some schools have any. Everything can be run by office staff. I know some credentialed people who get paid mostly to have their names listed, but don't do much of anything except look at grades the computer assigns.

It was bad when this was limited to diploma mills, but even regular colleges are getting into the act. Professional organizations that approve programs are now accepting the practice of instructorless education, even using it themselves, and approve anyone claiming to teach just like they do if they have enough money to pay for it.

When you look at schools and see them charging 30 to 40K for a 9-month coding program that doesn't teach enough to enable graduates to get a decent job, and see that some organization actually approved them, it just makes you sick.

The article I was just reading was an expose on on-campus 4-year and 2-year colleges - An eye-opener for sure

[ In Reply To ..]
The more I Googled on these topics, the worse it got. It looks like the main problem is the accredited schools get federal money, so four-year colleges have tripled their cost of tuition and two-year colleges have doubled theirs.I guess they might as well because the school will get their money even if the student doesn't get a job and can't pay back the loan. It doesn't matter how much they raise the cost of tuition. They get paid anyway. It's a win situation for the school and a lose situation for the students. The more you read, the worse it gets.

It just goes to show that the accreditation process is corrupt - Puzzled

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't understand why someone does stop this kind of corruption. I also read about other problems like drug and alcohol abuse, rapes on campus, and civil rights abuses, but the main problem on campus seemed to be they are charging so much that the students don't have a chance to get a return on their so-called investment. Something is wrong with that system. It sounds like they are threatening to shut down some of the worst offenders though, which might scare the rest into lowering their tuition to a reasonable amount and firing their over-aggressive recruiters.

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