Benefits of for-profit colleges questioned

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Aggressive marketing campaigns have painted for-profit colleges like the University of Phoenix as powerful antidotes to economic pains caused by the lagging economy.

But ask Nancy Frailey – who graduated from another for-profit college eight months ago in hopes of improving her life – and you’ll hear the opposite.

“I’m still unemployed,” said the mother of five. “My loans are actually due starting this month. I have no job.”

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recently released a scathing report about for-profit colleges. It found that the majority of students who enroll in schools like these never graduate. And even if they do graduate, students are often saddled with sizeable debt.

“They sometimes wind up paying a higher interest rate on those loans,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, a member of the committee. “Therefore, they wind up finishing up in those schools with much more debt. They also have more difficulty getting places in good jobs.”

In fact, on average, for-profit schools employ ten recruiters paid to bring in new students for every one specialist who helps graduates find jobs, according to the Senate report. The report also states that, on average, a private college degree or certificate costs four times what it would have at a community college or public university.

Finally, much of the financial aid for-profit schools receive is paid for by taxpayers in the form of federal financial aid. That financial aid amounts to about $32 billion a year.

Frailey, 42, signed up for a 10-month program at ATI Career Training Center in Albuquerque to become certified as a medical assistant. The program cost $17,000. An equivalent certificate at Central New Mexico Community College – including prerequisite classes like math and English – would have cost $966.

“Oh they’re more interested in money for sure, without a doubt,” Frailey said. “Come in, sign this piece of paper, go sit in that class. Ok, done. See ya. They’re not interested in you as a person at all.”

Frailey also said the training she received was, at times, sub-par.

“When I was learning how to do stitching, we were supposed to have staples and staple removers,” she said. “I learned with an office stapler.”

She said it will likely take her about 10 years to pay off the $17,000 she borrowed.

Officials at ATI in Albuquerque declined to comment about the complaints, and referred all questions to a vice president in Texas, who never answered News 13’s written questions. New Mexico’s Higher Education Department said ATI has lost its accreditation and it is monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, New Mexico’s State Personnel Office recently inked a deal with the University of Phoenix to give state employees a 10 percent discount on tuition should they decide to attend that school.