Non-Profit Administrators Are Heading to the For-Profit Sector

Non-Profit Administrators Are Heading to the For-Profit Sector

Amidst recent controversy over recruiting practices and poor job placement, for-profit education institutions have begun to recruit non-profit administrators in an effort to influence what can be a predatory, misleading admissions culture. The intent is to demonstrate to Washington and critics in general that there are many positive similarities between for- and non-profit schools, and that for-profits offer accessibility and opportunity to students who may be unable to enter a traditional non-profit.

Diane Auer Jones, an assistant secretary for postsecondary education during the George W. Bush presidency and a lobbyist and Congressional staffer, is one of the first to make the move. Jones recently accepted a position as Career Education Corp.’s vice president of external and regulatory affairs.

Long before her career began in education, Jones was a massage therapist student at a for-profit college in Baltimore. Her son, similarly, attended a for-profit college. Jones has remarked that she would never work for a “bad actor” and that the for-profit sector, despite criticism, is “not all bad.” Her reputation and work will be a huge asset to the company, but Jones was quick to warn that for-profits have proven themselves and can stand on their own. “If by hiring me it does help some people open their eyes that the sector is serious about doing it the right way, then great. If people look at my credibility and that lets them look at the sector in a new way, then that’s a benefit for the company.”

Geri H. Malandra, a former official at the University of Texas System and the American Council on Education, has followed Jones’ lead and switched sectors. Malandra recently accepted the provost position at Kaplan University and brings to the table extensive experience in the education sector. Malandra has said that she has followed …

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Recent Polls Show Four Year Colleges Are Not for Everyone

Recent Polls Show Four Year Colleges Are Not for Everyone

A college degree is central to most people’s conception of the “American Dream,” but the dearth of good jobs resulting from the economic downturn has people re-evaluating exactly what a college degree looks like.

The Associated Press and Stanford University teamed up to poll over 1,000 adults nationwide; the poll measured their opinions of educational quality in four-year colleges and universities versus community colleges and technical schools.

The vast majority of those polled, nearly 70%, said that many community colleges offer an education as good as one from a four-year school. The majority of respondents also noted that it’s “sometimes better for students to pursue a diploma or certificate from a two-year school than aim to enter a four-year college.”

Larry Wyse, one of the adults interviewed for the survey, said that the traditional mindset that “every student should attend a four-year college,” is frustrating. Wyse, who holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, chose instead to pursue a technical trade and has run a heating repair and plumping business for almost 30 years.

Says Wyse, “not every student who graduates from high school has the capability or the financial means or the intestinal fortitude that it takes to complete a four-year degree. There are a lot of skilled trade and technical service type jobs that are begging for applicants.”

The results of the AP and Stanford poll appear to reiterate this sentiment as more Americans are choosing community colleges, trade schools, or online universities to earn a certificate or degree in a specialized field of study or trade.

When asked if college degrees prepare students for the workforce, 62% of respondents answered “yes” for community colleges while 68% responded affirmatively on behalf of four-year schools.

The close proximity of these figures is telling and supports the rise in …

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