Punch line For-profit colleges are facing a tough test: getting new students to enroll.
Excerpted from WSJ: “Party Ends at For-Profit Schools”
Enrollment at for-profit colleges soared during the recession, amid heavy advertising that appealed to suddenly jobless people needing new skills.
But recently , new enrollments are down by as much as 45%
Why?
Responding to government investigations, a number of for-profit schools including Corinthian, Apollo. and others have tamped down aggressive recruiting … and are tightening admissions standards.
- State and federal investigators began turning up the heat last year on for-profit schools as default rates on federally backed student loans began to climb.
- Even before the enrollment boom, default rates—at 11.6% in 2008, the latest year available— were about double that of public colleges.
Washington Post Co.’s Kaplan Higher Education now requires certain students to participate in a trial program before enrolling and paying tuition.
More fundamental, many students are re-considering their options, including attending community colleges.
The would-be students are questioning the potential pay-off for degrees that can cost considerably more than what’s available at local community colleges.
Surprise, surprise, surprise …
The Homa Files 
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