Bill cuts funding for for-pro?t schools

A measure that aims to restrict the ability of for-profit schools to use federal money for advertising has received the backing of N.C. leaders at both the state and federal levels.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., reintroduced the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act earlier this month.

The bill did not advance past committee in the last legislative session.

Last week, 14 attorneys general, including North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, sent a letter supporting the bill to six Congress members.

“This important legislation is a vital first step to curb abusive and deceptive recruiting and marketing practices by the for-profit education industry,” the letter stated.

Cooper’s office received 54 complaints about for-profit schools last year, according to a press release.

Common student complaints included that some classes at for-profit schools lacked accreditation or could not be transferred to traditional universities.

UNC does not use federal money to recruit prospective students, said Ashley Memory, assistant director of undergraduate admissions at UNC.

The majority of recruitment and advising money comes from application fees, she said.

“We spent $180,000 (this year) to design, write and publish print and electronic media that we use to communicate with prospective students,” she said.

The school does not use television and radio advertisements or mass mail to recruit students, Memory said.

In fiscal year 2009, 15 of the largest for-profit education companies spent a total of $3.7 billion — about 23 percent of their combined revenues — on marketing and recruiting, according to the letter.

A Senate committee also reported that for-profit education companies received, on average, 86 percent of their revenues from funding provided by the federal government.

The for-profit corporations include ITT Educational Services Inc., and DeVry Inc., which have campuses in North Carolina.

According to the report, ITT spent $252 million, about 19 percent of its revenue, on marketing and recruiting in fiscal year 2009. DeVry spent $287.6 million, 19.7 percent of its revenue.

Still, Steve Gunderson, president of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, said in a press release that limiting advertising money would reduce access to higher education for non-traditional students.

“Without guidance counselors in environments like a workplace or battlefield, the vast majority of our students get information from traditional advertising,” Gunderson said.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.