I have always known for-profit schools were bad, but I never thought they would stoop to the level I have recently been faced with. I honestly thought that when I took the job I could make a difference for the students. I thought I could be there to offer support and encouragement. These places are just a fraud, an educational sham, a hoax. They suck in the vulnerable and promise to “train and educate them” so that they can get a job. Any of us who work in these places no the training is worthless, and the education could be earned at a fraction of the cost at a local community college.
My particular CCi campus recently stooped lower than I ever thought possible. So, I’ve decided to share my experience so that maybe something will change. I find the longer I sit by and watch what’s going on, the more I become depressed and unable to function in my personal life. I can’t sit on my hands and look the other way, and I really hope the rest of the people at my campus take a stand, as well.
I recently had to deal with what epitomizes predatory lending. Our campus enrolled someone who is mentally disabled. This student cannot read. I’d like to say it was a mistake and maybe the campus didn’t mean to do something so horrendous, but we all know that’s not the case. When I sit and tutor this student, the student struggles to understand basic words. We cannot read more than a paragraph in two hours. He is unable to comprehend the course content, even with enormous amounts of individualized attention. This is a for-profit college, not a public secondary school or a community college where resources are available to help students with special needs. Teachers at these universities do not require more than a bachelor degree to teach, let alone a specialized training certificate in an area as complicated as working with mentally handicapped adults. How did this student even comprehend the documents that had to be signed regarding financial responsibility and student loans? I argue that this person did not and does not understand that very important part of the for-profit school process; and if he/she does not understand the documentation, how can he/she be expected to pay back the loan money? How can he/she even hope to become gainfully employed? This student has been saddled with the large debt of the Genesis loan program of CCi; as a matter of fact, this student already has to pay out of pocket for the Genesis loans that were issued. This student lives on a tight budget, can’t afford these payments, yet the school happily rips this individual off each month.
This enrollment was done knowing full well this person’s inability to succeed in their chosen career path. The admissions rep didn’t want to enroll the person, claims he/she did not enroll the person, but management needed numbers and signed off on the enrollment. I don’t want to mention the career path or too many specifics about this student (because I still have to feed my family), but imagine a scenario where a student wants to be a paralegal, can’t read, tries to do the coursework, becomes indebted to the tune of twenty thousand dollars and then SAPs out due to being unable to pass a single class (and if passed along, owes the full forty thousand dollars worth of “education”). Even if this student were passed along, how would this student even qualify for employment? The teachers even give this student different tests than the rest of the class to ensure the student passes. The instructors think they are being helpful, but they only raise this student’s hopes to something he/she cannot achieve.
This student is trying to be successful, but no amount of tutoring can fix what is essentially a broken human being. I mean, the student is mentally handicapped. The student has too low of an IQ to ever be a paralegal, a business owner, a cop, or whatever—what matters is that this student’s enrollment brings in important financial aid dollars that help keep the school afloat. That’s all that matters. If he/she SAPs out before he/she can finish, the school gets its money. And that’s the bottom line. This person is simply a number.
It doesn’t seem to matter to anyone who could cancel these loans or guide this student to a more appropriate program. No one in any position to do anything cares about anything except the money, but they should care that the outlay of funds for financial aid might devastate this person for life. In the end, all the directors and presidents care about is that they get their bonuses; the only way this is accomplished is to keep enrolling new students no matter the cost, no matter their ability to find a job, or even to pass the course. What’s the old saying? Sacrifice one to save the many. In this case, the many refers to the directors and the presidents and what gets saved is the bonuses they earn by keeping enrollment numbers high no matter the cost or possibility of gainful employment.
So this student gets sacrificed. This student gets to incur a ton of debt. This student gets to argue with debt collectors when the payments aren’t made. This student gets to lose the roof over his/her head. But that’s what matters—money, bonuses, and numbers. Forget that employment possibility isn’t even an option.
I wish I could be more specific, but I still have to go to work and try and help this person. Apart from a teacher or two, I’m the only one who really seems to want to help this mentally disabled student. Everybody else just stares at this student like he/she is nonexistent.
This student is such a kind, caring person who sincerely believes that we all have his/her best interests at heart. I wish he/she could understand the truth. The student never complains that something is amiss because this student thinks this education will payoff. If this student could read, maybe there would be a chance, but this student will never read at more than a third grade level. The campus is only looking to gain an enrollment on the back of someone who is incapable of defending himself or herself.
Anyway, if you have a similar story, please share it. Only if we work together can we bring these institutions to some kind of reckoning. Contact your local attorney general. Contact your local newspaper. Contact reporters and journalists who specialize in reporting on consumer advocacy. Contact your state legislator or congressperson. If they don’t listen the first time, send emails until they do. Unless we all complain, nothing will ever change, and this predatory lending will continue.
Sorry for the long post, but my heart really aches for this person. Thanks for listening.