For-profit colleges should not be allowed to use federal funding for advertising their academic programs.
Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., has recently reintroduced a bill aiming to restrict the ability of for-profit schools to do just that.
Currently, 86 percent of all revenues going to for-profit schools come from the federal government. In 2009, 15 of the largest for-profit education companies spent 23 percent of their combined revenues on marketing and recruiting. It’s unacceptable to pour so much taxpayer money into private advertising.
If this bill passes, taxpayers’ money would not be used to advertise, recruit and market to students.
This is particularly important because many for-profit schools use deceptive advertising practices to target particular populations, such as active duty service members, and sometimes offer unaccredited classes.
The argument that these schools need federal funding to improve access to education is nullified by even a cursory look at the numbers. The top 15 publicly traded for-profit education companies turned a 19.7 percent profit in 2009, when they received 86 percent of their funding from taxpayers — they’re turning a profit on taxpayer money.
If these schools can turn profits, they should be able to pay for their own advertising. Taxpayers’ money should be used for education and not for supporting a profit-seeking industry with sometimes questionable benefits.
