Good for-Profit Schools Shouldn’t Worry; Ohio Regents Can Protect Their Students

For-profit colleges are right for some people. But if these schools’ students are going to get state financial aid, it’s only sensible that their programs should have to get the Ohio Board of Regents’ Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

Many of Ohio’s for-profit colleges are not really colleges, but trade schools that offer skill certificates in, for example, computer software programs. Students can’t get state grants for these classes. But many of the schools also offer more extensive programs, including in practical nursing, dental hygiene and massage therapy; you can get aid for these courses.

Though tuition at for-profits is often as costly or more expensive than at public colleges, generally the credits don’t transfer to other institutions.

Gov. Ted Strickland wants to let the 14,000 people who currently are getting aid complete their course work, but he doesn’t want future students to be eligible for state money unless the board of regents has blessed the quality of a for-profit school’s programs.

Locally future students at Miami Jacobs Career College, RETS Tech Center and ITT Technical Institute would be affected.

Two things are driving the proposed change:

Saving money is one goal. Ohio recently has substantially increased its need-based financial aid. As more students claim this help, the state’s bill is going to grow. This is a good problem to have; Ohio needs more people, especially those from lower income families, in college.

But seeing what’s ahead, the governor is picking and choosing where he wants to invest.

It’s wholly reasonable to spend tax dollars only on students taking classes that can apply toward a two- or four-year degree. After all, this aid is not job-training money; it’s a higher education grant. And the help the students at for-profit schools are getting is significant, averaging about $2,300 per student annually.

Another driver is concern about quality. Some for-profits have taken advantage of students, targeting low-income young people and even older adults with promises of quick degrees, high-paying jobs upon graduation and free money for tuition. In some states, many schools have been scandal-ridden.

There haven’t been big problems in Ohio recently, but there’s still that potential.

Consider this scenario: If a school’s program isn’t rigorous and students can’t pass state licensing exams, they can be saddled with thousands of dollars of debt and have nothing to show for it. Reputable places won’t object to the regents’ reviewing their programs and admission rules.

For-profits schools are a growth industry nationally. They pride themselves on offering classes at the times students want them and moving students rapidly into the job market. Some employers also say they’re quick at spotting training needs and filling them with little cogitating or hand wringing. That’s all to the good.

But because the schools’ student-customers are often lowincome and going out on a financial limb for an education that will lift them up but probably not make them rich, the state needs to look out for their interests.

Gov. Strickland isn’t proposing to shortchange anyone. The Legislature should back him.

(c) 2007 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.