CNN did a special report on for-profit colleges and the risk students face of getting into deep debt with questionable degrees. A former Westwood student was profiled for the story. The reporter also examined the findings of a recent Senate investigation report which exposed systematic deceptive recruiting practices at several for-profit colleges.
Here’s an excerpt:
Dane Lockman saw a commercial advertising Westwood College while watching late-night television. The then-29-year-old single father, with a budding interest in web design, decided he would be the first in his immediate family to attend college. By October 2006, he was enrolled in the for-profit institution to complete a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. To pay for school, he took out $40,000 in private and government loans.
We’re sure that sounds familiar to many of you. Click here to read the entire CNN story.
The CBS station in San Francisco, KPIX, profiled a Westwood student who complained to their Action Help Line about the school. The 23-year-old student, Christian Duncan, says he currently owes close to $80,000, and still does not have a diploma. They call his experience “one expensive lesson.”
The story also focuses on the huge boom in for-profit education in the past decade. They report that tuition is usually far more expensive than what public colleges charge, and the reporter says even some top-notch private universities are cheaper. She warns that students of these schools can get stuck paying the bill for a long time. Click on the video above to watch. We’re sure many of you can relate, from all the stories you’ve shared with us. If you haven’t already, you can click here to tell us your story.
