Barry Yeoman's School of Hard Knocks Article

Barry Yeoman has written an update to his 1997 article on trade schools, Scam Schools http://www.barryyeoman.com/articles/scamschools.html in this month’s Good Housekeeping Magazine, p. 153, called School of Hard Knocks. For all those considering taking out student loans for one of these day-time TV show schools, the article urges caution, noting that at least at one school, student loan defaults are approaching 30 percent, unheard of figures for traditional state run college and universities.

What is it he’s warning about? Well there are a number of anecdotal stories he tells of students who complete a school’s program only to find that the “credentials” they have earned are not accepted by employers, especially in the medical technology feels. In some cases he states frankly that the degree earned isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, and cites problems with non-certified, non-qualified teaching staffs, improper clinical programs and other issues.

For-profit schools are big business with federally-guaranteed loans now becoming a major player. The Education Department is currently investigating many of these schools and there have been some fraud cases filed. What Mr. Yeoman urges is proper research and gives some online information designed to help a prospective student make intelligent, informed choices before they commit.

Naturally, the industry is firing back, with a rebuttal put out by the Career College Association refuting Mr. Yeoman’s assertions: http://www.cca-now.com/2010/05/good-housekeeping-magazines-attack-on.html. It’s always good to hear both sides of any argument.

My experience in school accreditation is with North Central Association (NCA), which is responsible for certifying the academic rigor of high school and college programs. I have been responsible for overseeing my school’s accreditation process twice, so I know the steps needed to obtain an NCA seal of approval. Most public and private schools are members of this association; however, for-profit schools generally are not.

Before I would enroll in a medical technology, nursing or law program at one of these schools I would have a number of questions ready, including questions about their true placement rate after graduation. Some schools are boasting rates of 96-99%when in fact it’s been shown the rates are closer to 50-55%. That’s should ring bells, as well as a school’s “hard sell” recruiting approach. Do your research!

A great place to start is with the government database at: http://www.nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator This will give basic tuition information, demographic information statistics related to graduation rates and loan defaults. Why would you want that information? High dropout rates may reflect quality issues with the school, and high loan defaults could indicate students aren't finding jobs in the fleid they are preparing for.