

For-profit colleges’ increasingly desperate tactics - cwan
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2010/10/06/for-profit-colleges-increasingly-desperate-tactics/

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kls
_the ones who do get a degree often find it worthless in the real world_

While I have no love lost for the for-profit schools, I went to one I know how
they operate. I think the above statement is not true. Some of the schools are
regionally accredited (the one I went to was). Meaning credits will transfer
and other schools will honor the degree when a student seeks a higher degree.

I cant speak for the curriculum taught at all of the schools but I can say
that for UOP the curriculum was at a level somewhere between a 4 year
community collage and an average state school. I knew the deal going in, an I
knew the expense but I was already an executive at the time and needed a
degree to move to the CTO spot in the company I was with. It was a no brainier
for me. 50k for school was cheap for me so long as school did not interfere
with my already overloaded schedule. What sealed the deal for me was the 1
class at a time approach. Instead of 16 week semesters where you take 3-4
classes UOP broke it into 1 focused class over a 5 week period. Given my
schedule this allowed me to bank the credits and adjust my schedule. I only
needed to plan 5 weeks at a time. And with as busy as I was that was the most
I could do. If the next 5 weeks where going to be slammed. I could sign up for
the next class when my schedule cooled off.

To say that they are of no value is characteristically unfair, to say that
they don't offer a good value proposition to most people is more accurate.

I think the idea of degrees as a job requirement are nonsensical in the first
place. If the job falls in a scientific discipline there are already
certification (Doctor, Nurse, engineer) that prove (as much as you can) core
competency. Legal the same thing (Real Estate, Lawyer, CPA). As well, for the
arts it does not matter just because you are study in the arts does not make
you good at them.

If people would stop the nonsensical notion that a degree creates a more
qualified candidate, we would not have people saddling themselves with debt
just to be competitive and the universities would go back to being
institutions of repute, where great minds go to collaborate. The rest of us
are just getting in their way to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.

