Is this money well spent?

Three stories in education news today made me ask a question:

“Florida's Attorney General Ends Investigation of Kaplan”

“The office of Florida's attorney general, Pam Bondi, announced on Tuesday that it had concluded a three-year investigation into the recruiting and enrollment practices of Kaplan Inc., a for-profit chain. The investigation, which focused on other for-profits as well, found no violations by Kaplan, according to a statement from the company. Kaplan also voluntarily reached an agreement with Bondi's office, under which it will disclose more details about academic programs. The company will also reimburse the attorney general's office for fees it racked up during the investigation.”

Read it here: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/18/floridas-attorney-general-ends-investigation-kaplan#sthash.NHEgP3Pl.dpbs

“City Attorney of San Francisco Settles with EDMC”

“San Francisco's city attorney, Dennis Herrera, on Tuesday announced a $4.4 million settlement with Education Management Corporation (EDMC). Herrera's office had been investigating the student-recruiting tactics of the California Art Institutes, which EDMC owns. The for-profit chain did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, according to a corporate filing. It will pay roughly $2.5 million in scholarships for past and present students at the local Art Institutes. The rest of the settlement amount will cover Herrera's costs for the investigation. The company also reached a voluntary agreement to provide more public information about its programs, such as job placement and graduation rates.”

Read here: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/18/city-attorney-san-francisco-settles-edmc#sthash.KsvqcKCi.dpbs

“Consumer Group Wants States to Clamp Down on For-Profits”

“The National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit group, on Wednesday released a report calling for tighter state regulation of for-profit institutions. Federal crackdowns, such as proposed "gainful employment" standards, will not be strong enough to prevent deceptive practices in the sector, according to the report. The group's recommendation's include a call for states to stop relying on regional accreditors to vet for-profits, and for state agencies to instead set their own minimum standards.”

Read it here: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/18/consumer-group-wants-states-clamp-down-profits#sthash.MttYUVEs.dpbs

Is this money well spent?  Have students benefitted from any of this government action and spending? Could students have benefitted more if that money had been spent on a collaborative effort between the private non-traditional sectors and traditional public sectors?

 

It is all about the students.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam