Above is a segment of Good Morning America in which ABC reporters do their own sting on a U of Phoenix recruiter.
I zipped over to the Saddleback College Lariat website, where I found this:
Vanguard might not be a "for-profit," since it is affiliated with a church. Months ago, when I checked the Lariat website, I found several ads for notorious for-profits. I couldn't find those ads today.
UPDATE:
We received the following comment:
I'm David Wescott and I'm working with University of Phoenix. Given that you shared the video, I hope you're willing to let me share this link to get the University of Phoenix response to it. Let people see all the facts and then come to their own conclusions, yes?
Here's the link that Wescott provides:
University of Phoenix Responds to Recent Media Criticism
The above U of P response does not address the concern that the rate of student loan default is considerable higher at the U of P than it is at the average public college or university — and yet the "for-profits," including the U of P, get a disproportionate share of federally guaranteed loans. The response is full of the sort of distortion and flummery (it repeatedly refers to being "fully accredited"— there is no such thing; it implies that an accredited institution ipso facto produces graduates qualified for desired employment; clearly, that is not so) that one might expect from a business that is focused on, well, profit, not education.
In the U of P’s response, the following remark holds a place of prominence:
However, we’re disappointed that these media reports ignore the thousands of success stories from University of Phoenix students and alumni, the overwhelming majority of whom are successful in their career and proud to be a Phoenix.
This is mere deflection. Instead of dealing with the disturbing actions of, and facts about, the U of P (keep in mind that the U of P was ordered to pay $277 million dollars in a recent legal decision that concerned recruitment practices), this writer changes the subject: "yeah, but what about the good things that happen at the U of P!"
I wonder if the U of P offers logic courses.
One might suppose that an institution of higher learning would offer a defense that rises above gross fallacies and specious rhetoric. But consider this paragraph:
Our degree programs are fully accredited and prepare students to thrive in today’s job market. For example, since 2004 we have graduated more than 25,000 teachers and 15,000 nurses. Our teaching program is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Each state has its own state teacher credentialing examination and standards and graduates of our teaching program must pass the necessary state examinations and student teaching requirements in order to become credentialed to teach in their state of residence.
Having read this, a reader might suppose that U of P graduates are credentialed, but that’s not quite what this writer says, though he may seem to. In response to the complaint that graduates are often NOT prepared to compete in the marketplace (for teaching jobs, etc.), the above writer notes that “Each state has its own … credentialing examination … and graduates of our … program must pass the necessary examinations … in order to become credentialed to teach in their state of residence.”
In other words, earning a U of P degree does NOT guarantee that its graduates will become credentialed and employed, for they must still past the state's examinations.
So how again is this a response to the complaint? No how.
Further, as the ABC segment revealed, even U of P graduates who do pass the tests in Texas and New York are not ipso facto qualified to teach in those states.
* * *
Cat lovers will enjoy the following video (no doubt I’m the only Fan o’ Felines in the world who hasn’t already seen it a thousand times):
UPDATE:
We received the following comment:
I'm David Wescott and I'm working with University of Phoenix. Given that you shared the video, I hope you're willing to let me share this link to get the University of Phoenix response to it. Let people see all the facts and then come to their own conclusions, yes?
Here's the link that Wescott provides:
University of Phoenix Responds to Recent Media Criticism
The above U of P response does not address the concern that the rate of student loan default is considerable higher at the U of P than it is at the average public college or university — and yet the "for-profits," including the U of P, get a disproportionate share of federally guaranteed loans. The response is full of the sort of distortion and flummery (it repeatedly refers to being "fully accredited"— there is no such thing; it implies that an accredited institution ipso facto produces graduates qualified for desired employment; clearly, that is not so) that one might expect from a business that is focused on, well, profit, not education.
In the U of P’s response, the following remark holds a place of prominence:
However, we’re disappointed that these media reports ignore the thousands of success stories from University of Phoenix students and alumni, the overwhelming majority of whom are successful in their career and proud to be a Phoenix.
This is mere deflection. Instead of dealing with the disturbing actions of, and facts about, the U of P (keep in mind that the U of P was ordered to pay $277 million dollars in a recent legal decision that concerned recruitment practices), this writer changes the subject: "yeah, but what about the good things that happen at the U of P!"
I wonder if the U of P offers logic courses.
One might suppose that an institution of higher learning would offer a defense that rises above gross fallacies and specious rhetoric. But consider this paragraph:
Our degree programs are fully accredited and prepare students to thrive in today’s job market. For example, since 2004 we have graduated more than 25,000 teachers and 15,000 nurses. Our teaching program is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Each state has its own state teacher credentialing examination and standards and graduates of our teaching program must pass the necessary state examinations and student teaching requirements in order to become credentialed to teach in their state of residence.
Having read this, a reader might suppose that U of P graduates are credentialed, but that’s not quite what this writer says, though he may seem to. In response to the complaint that graduates are often NOT prepared to compete in the marketplace (for teaching jobs, etc.), the above writer notes that “Each state has its own … credentialing examination … and graduates of our … program must pass the necessary examinations … in order to become credentialed to teach in their state of residence.”
In other words, earning a U of P degree does NOT guarantee that its graduates will become credentialed and employed, for they must still past the state's examinations.
So how again is this a response to the complaint? No how.
Further, as the ABC segment revealed, even U of P graduates who do pass the tests in Texas and New York are not ipso facto qualified to teach in those states.
* * *
Cat lovers will enjoy the following video (no doubt I’m the only Fan o’ Felines in the world who hasn’t already seen it a thousand times):
