Ian WhiteKaplan University, For-Profit Colleges Scamming Students
December 24th 2010 18:51
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Study hard, go to college, get a good job
Study hard, go to college, get a good job
Study hard, go to college, get a good job
The mantra thrust on children as soon as their cognitive functions allow them to comprehend it. There was even a time when this was true. But higher education, like numerous American services, has become a casualty of lechery from wanton greed-hounds and an inability to evolve. Gordon Gekko told us that greed is good, and we've seen the near apocalyptic aftermath that occurs when so many take those words to heart. Here in America, everything, from learning to water, is for profit and largely unregulated. We've seen it destroy our healthcare industry, and now the disease of more is crippling an already flawed college system. The campus dream is proving to be a ghastly nightmare. Entry to the best school's rely on influence and nepotism, but all schools share high price tags to even set foot on; the thousands for tuition, the hundreds of dollars per book, meal plans, room and board. The bill will usually require loans since scholarships aren't nearly as accessible as advertised and most won't cover your whole stay at the university unless you happen to excel at sports. The loans then pile up interest (always more than promised) and paying it off turns into indentured servitude because most graduates won't make enough money starting out in their chosen fields to timely settle the tab. That forces graduates to take on mind numbing jobs to pay off their debt. (That includes the drug dealer you met) The high price and low payout of campus life has led to a rise in the pursuit of online degrees. Well dim the lights and cue the ominous score, because the crap thickens.
Meet Arlen Castillo, a young woman working on an online program with the notorious Kaplan University to get her associate's degree. Unfortunately her mother in Florida required surgery that would take months of recuperation, forcing her to withdrawal; Castillo had only completed two weeks. Arlen had consulted with her Kaplan academic advisor and was told all she had to do was fill out a withdrawal form and she'd incur no additional expenses beyond the registration fee she already paid. Castillo may have thought nothing of it while she helped her mom recover, but she was in for a rude awakening a year and a half later. Collection agents pounced, demanding $10,000 dollars in outstanding tuition charges. I'm sure 10 grand for 2 sessions didn't make the brochure.
This wasn't a clerical error, or by any means an isolated incident. Castillo was just a victim of Kaplan's inside practice of "guerrilla registration." This occurs when advisors enroll students into classes they never take without their consent whether they have withdrawn or not in order to maximize profits. The scoop on these outrageously criminal acts was revealed by a number of former employees. Kaplan is a for-profit subsidiary of the Washington Post, and their actions have been dragging down the name of the esteemed paper with the revelation that the Kaplan managers have been applying pressure on advisors for years to use these tactics in order to boost revenue and enrollment numbers. Most of their profit comes from federal financial aid dollars so they've employed the guerrilla tactics to keep students enrolled as long as possible.
Former employee Sharon Cobbler, who worked in the corporate office in Fort Lauderdale from 2007 until July 2010, described how most advisors would use the company database to access the student's email correspondences. From there they'd search for their usernames and passwords for the Kaplan enrollment system and then use that information to sign in with multiple student identities to put them in classes they've never enrolled in. For profit college is the latest unregulated scam that hounds people with debt, knowing that they won't be able to pay it off with their likely earnings upon graduating.
How sick of a culture are we that education is for profit? Massive educational reform is needed now more than ever. Teachers are underpaid and in more cases than unions acknowledge, under qualified. The curriculum's are ineffective, and the alleged gateway to the best career opportunities are nothing more than loan sharks screwing you all the way into an abysmal job market. The parasites continue to pray on an American animal that has been unwilling to respond. Soon, there will be nothing left to steal.
Study hard, go to college, get a good job
Study hard, go to college, get a good job
The mantra thrust on children as soon as their cognitive functions allow them to comprehend it. There was even a time when this was true. But higher education, like numerous American services, has become a casualty of lechery from wanton greed-hounds and an inability to evolve. Gordon Gekko told us that greed is good, and we've seen the near apocalyptic aftermath that occurs when so many take those words to heart. Here in America, everything, from learning to water, is for profit and largely unregulated. We've seen it destroy our healthcare industry, and now the disease of more is crippling an already flawed college system. The campus dream is proving to be a ghastly nightmare. Entry to the best school's rely on influence and nepotism, but all schools share high price tags to even set foot on; the thousands for tuition, the hundreds of dollars per book, meal plans, room and board. The bill will usually require loans since scholarships aren't nearly as accessible as advertised and most won't cover your whole stay at the university unless you happen to excel at sports. The loans then pile up interest (always more than promised) and paying it off turns into indentured servitude because most graduates won't make enough money starting out in their chosen fields to timely settle the tab. That forces graduates to take on mind numbing jobs to pay off their debt. (That includes the drug dealer you met) The high price and low payout of campus life has led to a rise in the pursuit of online degrees. Well dim the lights and cue the ominous score, because the crap thickens.
Meet Arlen Castillo, a young woman working on an online program with the notorious Kaplan University to get her associate's degree. Unfortunately her mother in Florida required surgery that would take months of recuperation, forcing her to withdrawal; Castillo had only completed two weeks. Arlen had consulted with her Kaplan academic advisor and was told all she had to do was fill out a withdrawal form and she'd incur no additional expenses beyond the registration fee she already paid. Castillo may have thought nothing of it while she helped her mom recover, but she was in for a rude awakening a year and a half later. Collection agents pounced, demanding $10,000 dollars in outstanding tuition charges. I'm sure 10 grand for 2 sessions didn't make the brochure.
This wasn't a clerical error, or by any means an isolated incident. Castillo was just a victim of Kaplan's inside practice of "guerrilla registration." This occurs when advisors enroll students into classes they never take without their consent whether they have withdrawn or not in order to maximize profits. The scoop on these outrageously criminal acts was revealed by a number of former employees. Kaplan is a for-profit subsidiary of the Washington Post, and their actions have been dragging down the name of the esteemed paper with the revelation that the Kaplan managers have been applying pressure on advisors for years to use these tactics in order to boost revenue and enrollment numbers. Most of their profit comes from federal financial aid dollars so they've employed the guerrilla tactics to keep students enrolled as long as possible.
Former employee Sharon Cobbler, who worked in the corporate office in Fort Lauderdale from 2007 until July 2010, described how most advisors would use the company database to access the student's email correspondences. From there they'd search for their usernames and passwords for the Kaplan enrollment system and then use that information to sign in with multiple student identities to put them in classes they've never enrolled in. For profit college is the latest unregulated scam that hounds people with debt, knowing that they won't be able to pay it off with their likely earnings upon graduating.
How sick of a culture are we that education is for profit? Massive educational reform is needed now more than ever. Teachers are underpaid and in more cases than unions acknowledge, under qualified. The curriculum's are ineffective, and the alleged gateway to the best career opportunities are nothing more than loan sharks screwing you all the way into an abysmal job market. The parasites continue to pray on an American animal that has been unwilling to respond. Soon, there will be nothing left to steal.
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