I do believe the focus on employment has intensified. Employment is the key to each student / graduate paying back their loans and avoid defaulting on their student loans.
I think the focus has intensified because of rising costs of education. Education cost more, there is less financial aide and loans are harder to get. Therefore that creates a demand for enhanced accountability. Part of being accountable is to produce positive outcomes, including employment rates.
The focus on employment is largely due to Gainful employment and the debt to income ratio. The government is trying to ensure that debt rates for certain programs do not exceed income potentials.
Along the same lines, I see a huge need for statistical intensity with respect to risk mitigation. There's risk in weeding out the "wrong" student or accepting the "right" student; there's risk on the part of investing funds into developing students who crash and burn; there's risk for the for-profit schools in doing their job well enough to attract investment from others; and there's risk in creating new programs, degrees, and/or specializations to enhance learning for both the industries served by the graduates as well as the competition to stay relevant. Publishing statistics and focusing intently on them balances everything and can (hopefully) make it easier to work and serve students.
I agree that this is a huge part of the focus, and I would add repayment of the debt through gainful employment. "Doing the right thing" for students could also mean making sure that they are aware of career paths beyond the first job so they can see more of a future and grow that employment into more opportunities later.
Eric,
Thanks, you raise an excellent point about the element of risk in all phases and areas of for-profit education - and in some cases, education in general. I wonder if it is time for institutions in our sector, as a true learning community, be more willing to share comparative data to the good of the sector as a whole?
Jay Hollowell
Yes, because students have to pay back their loans.
Yes, I believe the focus has intensified. The driving force is due to all the new government imposed regulations with gainful employment. The government wants to ensure that students who are accruing large amounts of debt are able to obtain jobs/careers that will financially allow them to repay their loans.
We are in an economical depression. Unemployment is at an all time high rate right now. The cost of education and default rates on student loans are also high, which makes it essential for prospective students to be able to graduate and be employed in order to pay-back student loans and contribute to the work-force.
Yes. Increased governmental scrutiny.
Yes, the focus has intensified. The non repayment of student loans is what I believe to be the reason behind the employment focus of graduates.
I believe that we have learned from the mortgage crash that took place just a few years ago. We are still reeling from the revenue loss we experienced as a result of mass foreclosures nationwide. I think it became apparent that if we did not amplify our accountability with student aid, we were going to go down that road again in the form of defaults. Many of our defaults were as a result of students not being adequately prepared either to graduate or for the job market. As a result, student loans went unpaid. Hopefully the increased speculation will help stop the tide of schools simply enrolling for the almighty dollar.
