How the Explosion of the For-Profit Career Colleges Are Swindling Students and Draining the Country's Coffers

Thanks to Bush-era policies, schools have figured out how to work the federal student aid system while at the same time selling counterfeit dreams to low-income students.

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Around November 10, 2008, Mensch received a billing statement from Unisa, Inc., a loan servicing system, for a loan from the "Apex loan program". The bill was in the amount of $2,026.45 with a fixed interest rate of eighteen per cent. The loan's debt date is October 21, 2008, which is five months and two days from the date that Westwood processed his withdraw paperwork. This was the first time he had heard anything about a loan from Westwood College.

There's more, much more. Too much for this article to cover but you can read student testimonials and find out about the case here.

The Obama Stimulus Package goes to college

The recent $787 billion stimulus package passed by the Obama administration included $17 billion to increase by $500 the amount of money each student may receive to pay for college classes under the Pell Grant program, which provides money to low-income undergraduates. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was designed to help people recover financially. As President Obama said during a March 2009 speech:

We're already taking steps to make college or technical training affordable. All in all, we are making college affordable for seven million more students, with a sweeping investment in our children's futures and America's success.

It seems that instead of actually helping prepare people for future success, the stimulus program is setting many students up for a lifetime of debt peonage in the midst of a sweltering economic depression. How could this happen? The answer is complicated and involves neo-liberal policies of deregulation and privatization along with the fact that large corporations, like Alta Colleges, Inc., have figured out how to work the federal student aid system while at the same time selling counterfeit dreams to low-income students. Sound like the sub-prime mortgage crisis or the '"ownership society"? One thing is for sure: at Alta Colleges, Inc. one can truly get a neo-liberal arts education.

Danny Weil is soon to publish "Charter Schools," dissecting neo-liberalism's plan for reforming education in America. He can be reached at WeilUnion@aol.com.