Dear Commons Community,
Corinthian Colleges, one of the more successful for-profit college companies, may have to close for failure to disclose documentation on student data to the U.S. Department of Education. According to the Associated Press:
“Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit education company with about 75,000 students nationwide, warned Thursday that it may fail as it clashes with U.S. regulators over student data.
Corinthian, which owns the Everest College, Heald College and WyoTech schools, said that the U.S. Department of Education has limited its access to federal funds after it failed to provide documents and other information to the agency.
That follows allegations that the company altered grades, student attendance records and falsified job placement data used in advertisements for its schools.
Shares in the company plunged more than 64 percent Thursday.
The Education Department said that it heightened its oversight of the company after requesting data “multiple times” over the past five months. Regulators have grown increasingly concerned about inconsistencies in its job placement claims for graduates.
Corinthian’s problems come as student enrollment at schools run by for-profit education companies have been dropping amid heightened government scrutiny of the industry’s practices. Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed suit against another company, ITT Educational Services Inc., alleging that it pushed students into high-cost private loans knowing they would likely default. The company denied the charges. Several state attorneys general are also investigating various for-profit education companies.”
It is unfortunate that Corinthian is in this situation because for-profit colleges have a role to play in providing higher education opportunities for segments of the U.S. population. However, Corinthian along with several other for-profit institutions such as the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University brought federal government oversight upon themselves by taking advantage of students who would have little chance to graduate and who would be saddled with crushing student loan debt.
Tony
