"I've seen a lot of reports for a lot of years about how
for-profit schools have pretty much based their incomes on the ability
for students to get federal financial aid," says 30-year-old Matt
Warner, a cybersecurity and information assurance master's student at
the nonprofit, online Western Governors University.
Though he's personally hesitant about for-profits, he
suggests prospective students focus more on factors such as cost and the
degrees offered.
For California resident Carlos Ramirez, enrolling in an online doctoral program in health administration at the for-profit University of Phoenix
was a no-brainer. Ramirez previously earned his bachelor's and master's
at the school and was satisfied with its flexibility and student
support.
Experts say in online education, a school's classification as a for-profit versus nonprofit tells prospective online students little about overall quality.
"I think it's less about the sector and more on how
attentive the institution is to meeting the needs of students, to
understanding best practices, to preparing their faculty for this robust
learning experience," says Karen Pedersen, chief knowledge officer for
the Online Learning Consortium, an organization aiming to improve online
higher education.
For-profit institutions have faced criticism in recent years for questionable recruitment practices, low graduation rates and high student debt.
Though employers today are becoming more receptive to accepting
candidates with for-profit, online degrees, there's still a stigma
around them, experts say.
"It’s a distinction that has gotten a lot of press over
the last many years, and I’m not sure that it’s warranted," says Betty
Vandenbosch, president of the for-profit Kaplan University, which delivers many degrees online.
When for-profit online degree programs started becoming
more prevalent around 1999, they accepted almost anybody who applied,
including those who weren't sufficiently prepared for college, says
Kathleen Ives, OLC's CEO and executive director, who has served as
faculty for both for-profits and nonprofits. That, she says, contributed
to low graduation rates and high debt for those who dropped out.
That initial focus primarily on corporate profits "has
tainted much of the for-profit sector. And not fairly, because the
for-profit institutions are just as diverse as the nonprofit
institutions," says David Schejbal, dean of continuing education,
outreach and e-learning at the University of Wisconsin—Extension, which
coordinates continuing education and online programs across 26 statewide
campuses.
Things have begun to change at many for-profits, Pedersen says. Overall, quality of student services ranges in the sector, but many for-profits have started focusing more on student success in addition to attracting applicants.
Many for-profits, Ives says, now require undergraduate
applicants to complete assessments to determine whether they are ready
for online college. That's how undergraduate admissions works at the
for-profit, online American Public University System for non-military students and those entering with few credits, says Karan Powell, the institution's president.
"We, over time, have made the decision that there are
some demonstrations of college readiness that need to be evident," says
Powell, and retention rates have improved as a result.
Still, in comparison with nonprofit online programs
overall, admissions at for-profits are generally less selective, says
Mia Ellis, assistant director of admission services at Pennsylvania State University—World Campus, who has also worked at for-profit schools. Still, she acknowledges that admission into many online programs is easier compared with on-campus offerings.
For-profit programs have been more likely than nonprofits
to have rolling admissions and academic calendars that don't operate
around the standard semester schedule, experts say – though that format
is now gaining momentum among nonprofits.
Beyond structure, experts say for-profit online programs are more likely to have national rather than regional accreditation. Regional accreditation, which some major for-profits do have, is preferred among employers and other universities if a student transfers.
And when it comes to tuition and fees, for-profit
programs charged full-time students an average of $16,000 for the
2016-2017 school year, according to data from the College Board.
That's compared with $3,520 at two-year public colleges for full-time
in-state students and $9,650 at four-year public colleges for
in-staters, the report found. These data don't distinguish between
online and on-ground programs.
Out-of-state tuition at public colleges and tuition at
private universities, however, was higher than at for-profit schools in
2016-2017, according to the data.
Ultimately, a prospective online student's decision
should involve thorough research about for-profit programs'
accreditation, experts say. Students should also compare tuition,
faculty and support services, which can all vary in strength.
Tami Smith, an online bachelor's student at Colorado State University—Global Campus,
transferred out of a for-profit online bachelor's program mainly
because she was dissatisfied with the academic support she received, she
says. Her second time around, she read student reviews and found useful information online.
"I read the good reviews and the bad reviews, and just took my time to choose that right school," she says.
