Lower Ed
Lower Ed

Author: Tressie McMillan Cottom

Publisher: New Press, The

Published: 2017-02-28

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 162097102X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

More than two million students are enrolled in for-profit colleges, from the small family-run operations to the behemoths brandished on billboards, subway ads, and late-night commercials. These schools have been around just as long as their bucolic not-for-profit counterparts, yet shockingly little is known about why they have expanded so rapidly in recent years—during the so-called Wall Street era of for-profit colleges. In Lower Ed Tressie McMillan Cottom—a bold and rising public scholar, herself once a recruiter at two for-profit colleges—expertly parses the fraught dynamics of this big-money industry to show precisely how it is part and parcel of the growing inequality plaguing the country today. McMillan Cottom discloses the shrewd recruitment and marketing strategies that these schools deploy and explains how, despite the well-documented predatory practices of some and the campus closings of others, ending for-profit colleges won't end the vulnerabilities that made them the fastest growing sector of higher education at the turn of the twenty-first century. And she doesn't stop there. With sharp insight and deliberate acumen, McMillan Cottom delivers a comprehensive view of postsecondary for-profit education by illuminating the experiences of the everyday people behind the shareholder earnings, congressional battles, and student debt disasters. The relatable human stories in Lower Ed—from mothers struggling to pay for beauty school to working class guys seeking "good jobs" to accomplished professionals pursuing doctoral degrees—illustrate that the growth of for-profit colleges is inextricably linked to larger questions of race, gender, work, and the promise of opportunity in America. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews with students, employees, executives, and activists, Lower Ed tells the story of the benefits, pitfalls, and real costs of a for-profit education. It is a story about broken social contracts; about education transforming from a public interest to a private gain; and about all Americans and the challenges we face in our divided, unequal society.

Higher Ed, Inc.
Higher Ed, Inc.

Author: Richard S. Ruch

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2003-08-11

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9780801874475

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Winner of the 2002 Alice L. Beeman Research Award for Outstanding Writing about Communications from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Among higher education institutions in the United States, for-profit colleges and universities have steadily captured a larger share of the student market. A recent trend at for-profit institutions is the coupling of job training with accredited academic programs that offer traditional baccalaureate, professional, and graduate degrees. Richard Ruch, with administrative experience in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors of higher education, takes us inside these new for-profit institutions, describing who teaches there, who enrolls and why, and how the for-profits are managed and by whom. He analyzes their different structures, services, and outlook on higher learning and training, and explains in detail how they make profits from tuition income. In Higher Ed, Inc., Ruch opens up the discussion about for-profit higher education from the perspective of a participant-observer. Focusing on five providers—the Apollo Group (the University of Phoenix); Argosy Education Group (the American Schools of Professional Psychology); DeVry, Inc. (DeVry Institutes of Technology); Education Management Corporation (the Art Institutes International); and Strayer Education (Strayer University)—he conveys for the first time what it feels like to be inside this new kind of American institution. He is also candid about the less attractive aspects of the for-profit colleges, including what those who enroll may give up. As Ruch makes clear, the major for-profit colleges and universities offer a different approach to higher education—one that may be increasingly influential in the future.

After Admission
After Admission

Author: James E. Rosenbaum

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2007-01-04

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1610444787

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Enrollment at America's community colleges has exploded in recent years, with five times as many entering students today as in 1965. However, most community college students do not graduate; many earn no credits and may leave school with no more advantages in the labor market than if they had never attended. Experts disagree over the reason for community colleges' mixed record. Is it that the students in these schools are under-prepared and ill-equipped for the academic rigors of college? Are the colleges themselves not adapting to keep up with the needs of the new kinds of students they are enrolling? In After Admission, James Rosenbaum, Regina Deil-Amen, and Ann Person weigh in on this debate with a close look at this important trend in American higher education. After Admission compares community colleges with private occupational colleges that offer accredited associates degrees. The authors examine how these different types of institutions reach out to students, teach them social and cultural skills valued in the labor market, and encourage them to complete a degree. Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, and Person find that community colleges are suffering from a kind of identity crisis as they face the inherent complexities of guiding their students towards four-year colleges or to providing them with vocational skills to support a move directly into the labor market. This confusion creates administrative difficulties and problems allocating resources. However, these contradictions do not have to pose problems for students. After Admission shows that when colleges present students with clear pathways, students can effectively navigate the system in a way that fits their needs. The occupational colleges the authors studied employed close monitoring of student progress, regular meetings with advisors and peer cohorts, and structured plans for helping students meet career goals in a timely fashion. These procedures helped keep students on track and, the authors suggest, could have the same effect if implemented at community colleges. As college access grows in America, institutions must adapt to meet the needs of a new generation of students. After Admission highlights organizational innovations that can help guide students more effectively through higher education.

Ages of American Capitalism
Ages of American Capitalism

Author: Jonathan Levy

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published: 2022-04-05

Total Pages: 945

ISBN-13: 0812985184

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A leading economic historian traces the evolution of American capitalism from the colonial era to the present—and argues that we’ve reached a turning point that will define the era ahead. “A monumental achievement, sure to become a classic.”—Zachary D. Carter, author of The Price of Peace In this ambitious single-volume history of the United States, economic historian Jonathan Levy reveals how capitalism in America has evolved through four distinct ages and how the country’s economic evolution is inseparable from the nature of American life itself. The Age of Commerce spans the colonial era through the outbreak of the Civil War, and the Age of Capital traces the lasting impact of the industrial revolution. The volatility of the Age of Capital ultimately led to the Great Depression, which sparked the Age of Control, during which the government took on a more active role in the economy, and finally, in the Age of Chaos, deregulation and the growth of the finance industry created a booming economy for some but also striking inequalities and a lack of oversight that led directly to the crash of 2008. In Ages of American Capitalism, Levy proves that capitalism in the United States has never been just one thing. Instead, it has morphed through the country’s history—and it’s likely changing again right now. “A stunning accomplishment . . . an indispensable guide to understanding American history—and what’s happening in today’s economy.”—Christian Science Monitor “The best one-volume history of American capitalism.”—Sven Beckert, author of Empire of Cotton

Colleges That Change Lives
Colleges That Change Lives

Author: Loren Pope

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2006-07-25

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 1101221348

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Prospective college students and their parents have been relying on Loren Pope's expertise since 1995, when he published the first edition of this indispensable guide. This new edition profiles 41 colleges—all of which outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers, not only among A students but also among those who get Bs and Cs. Contents include: Evaluations of each school's program and "personality" Candid assessments by students, professors, and deans Information on the progress of graduates This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning disabilities, and single-sex education.

International Handbook of Higher Education
International Handbook of Higher Education

Author: James J.F. Forest

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2006-04-20

Total Pages: 1136

ISBN-13: 9781402040115

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides a central, authoritative source of reference on the most essential topics of higher education. The International Handbook of Higher Education combines a rich diversity of scholarly perspectives with a wide range of internationally derived descriptions and analyses. Chapters in the first volume cover central themes in the study of higher education, while contributors to the second volume focuses on contemporary higher education issues within specific countries or regions. Together, these volumes provide a centralized, easily accessible, yet scholarly source of information.

Earnings from Learning
Earnings from Learning

Author: David W. Breneman

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 0791481344

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Earnings from Learning examines the historical and contemporary factors that have fueled the rise of postsecondary for-profit, degree-granting institutions as a dynamic and powerful force in education. The contributors focus on such institutions as the University of Phoenix, DeVry, and Strayer to present theoretically grounded and data-driven research from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. They document unprecedented shifts in the postsecondary political economy and landscape and evaluate the implications for nonprofit institutions, including understanding the public and private benefits of higher education, postsecondary access and success, institutional resource allocation, competition, governance, and technology.

Universities in the Marketplace
Universities in the Marketplace

Author: Derek Bok

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-02-14

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1400825490

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Is everything in a university for sale if the price is right? In this book, one of America's leading educators cautions that the answer is all too often "yes." Taking the first comprehensive look at the growing commercialization of our academic institutions, Derek Bok probes the efforts on campus to profit financially not only from athletics but increasingly, from education and research as well. He shows how such ventures are undermining core academic values and what universities can do to limit the damage. Commercialization has many causes, but it could never have grown to its present state had it not been for the recent, rapid growth of money-making opportunities in a more technologically complex, knowledge-based economy. A brave new world has now emerged in which university presidents, enterprising professors, and even administrative staff can all find seductive opportunities to turn specialized knowledge into profit. Bok argues that universities, faced with these temptations, are jeopardizing their fundamental mission in their eagerness to make money by agreeing to more and more compromises with basic academic values. He discusses the dangers posed by increased secrecy in corporate-funded research, for-profit Internet companies funded by venture capitalists, industry-subsidized educational programs for physicians, conflicts of interest in research on human subjects, and other questionable activities. While entrepreneurial universities may occasionally succeed in the short term, reasons Bok, only those institutions that vigorously uphold academic values, even at the cost of a few lucrative ventures, will win public trust and retain the respect of faculty and students. Candid, evenhanded, and eminently readable, Universities in the Marketplace will be widely debated by all those concerned with the future of higher education in America and beyond.

Unprofitable Schooling
Unprofitable Schooling

Author: Todd J. Zywicki

Publisher: Cato Institute

Published: 2019-02-12

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1948647052

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Most economies advance by simultaneously decreasing costs and increasing quality. Unfortunately, when it comes to higher education, this has been turned on its head. Costs keep rising while quality declines. How has this happened? What can be done? This exceptional volume looks at the issues facing higher education from the perspective of both economics and history. Each chapter explores how the lessons learned from market competition in other sectors of the economy can be applied to higher education in order to bring about innovation, improved quality, and lower costs. The opening section offers a history of for-profit education before the Morrill Act—the federal legislation that funded land-grant universities; reviews the Act’s impact; and concludes with an exploration of federal student aid and how it prevents new funding options from entering the market. Section two examines higher education as it stands today—what is driving up college prices; tenure; administrative bloat; and university governance. And, the concluding third section shows how robust competition in higher education can be energized, and takes a deep look at for-profit vs. non-profit institutions. Unprofitable Schooling provides a sober and informative assessment of the state of higher education, critically covering historical assumptions, increasing government involvement, reflexive aversion to profit, and other, maybe unexpected, conclusions.