Florida Politicians cash in on colleges

[d_legendary1]

For more than a decade, “accountability” has been the education buzzword in Florida.

Schools are assigned A-to-F letter grades, teachers are evaluated using a complicated mathematical formula and third-graders can be held back if they don’t pass a standardized reading test.

The rules are different at for-profit colleges. The Herald found that, despite fraud lawsuits and government investigations around the country, Florida’s Legislature continues to encourage the growth of the industry, which says it provides opportunities to disadvantaged students. Lawmakers have increased funding sources and reduced quality standards and oversight. Florida’s attorney general, meanwhile, has been less aggressive than some counterparts in pursuing schools when they skirt laws involving the hundreds of millions they receive in state and federal money.

In Homestead, a school owner gained enormous influence with the local government, working through the mayor, whose wife was secretly hired by the college owner as a $5,000-a-month consultant. Miami-Dade prosecutors looked into the connection but decided it was no crime.

“In other areas of our education system, we promote accountability,” said State Rep. José Javier Rodríguez, a Miami Democrat. “Why wouldn’t we do the same here?”

Rodríguez filed a bill this session that would rescind state grant funding and suspend the licenses of for-profit colleges where loan defaults exceed 40 percent — or 30 percent in back-to-back years. A legislative staff analysis predicted a “very small number” of schools would be at risk.

The bill has struggled to gain traction, particularly in the Florida House, where it has not gotten a single hearing.

“The groups with the largest checkbooks tend to set the agenda,” Rodríguez said. “I don’t know if that’s what’s going on here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were.”

A Herald examination of campaign records since 2008 found that for-profit colleges have contributed more than $1.2 million to state lawmakers and political parties. The Legislature, in turn, passed 15 laws benefiting the industry.

http://pubsys.miamiherald.com/static/media/projects/2015/higher-ed-hustle/politicians.html

[Loge23]

1. What a bunch of whores we have in FL House & Senate

Can it be any more obvious? What will it take for people to wake the-good-damn up and see the carnage that the republican-controlled FL government is causing to this state?
They are well on-track to destroy the already addled state education system, along with the environment - all due to the influence of cash.
If Florida was not blessed with the great weather and coastline, this would be as backwater as the other red states.

[d_legendary1]

3. As long as someone is writing checks to these guys

they'll continue to screw us over. Money > People

[1939]

2. State Run Community Colleges

In theory, any program run by the for-profits ought to be a program tailor made for community colleges. One of the problems is ego. The community college presidents are all trying to upgrade their schools to full four year college standards and find the 18-month "certificate programs" to not meet their goals of becoming a "real university".

[Loge23]

4. State colleges provide alternatives to Universities, not compete with them.

To be fair, I don't think the goal of the state college presidents' is to be a University, nor would that ever happen in Tallahassee, as bad it is these days.
Many of the schools began offering four-year - the majority of these in Nursing, Business, IT, and Fire Science - in response to demand and lack of supply from State Universities (locational considerations).
Clearly, the state colleges saw a business opportunity and a way to increase the almighty FTE's that schools are partially judged on.
I don't think the 18 month certificate programs have been eliminated at all, with the possible exception of programs that did not prove popular.
The for-profits are only interested in the federal aid funds from their students - that's what drives their business model. Why would anyone pay 3x as much for a BSN than they would have at a State College? It's because of the sales pitch and the tenacious financial aid services they provide (at the expense of the federal government, read: taxpayers) - along with the perception (fair or otherwise) that they "care" about the student more. In many cases this "care" involves assembly-lining the student through the program regardless of academic or practical ability.
In the case of business student, this could be problematic; in the case of a nurse, it could be deadly.
Fortunately for the for-profits (and "non-profits", such as Arthur Keiser's business), they purchased former human-beings such as Joe Negron in the FL Senate to rein in the awful practice of state colleges actually educating people for far less than the for-and-non profits.

[1939]

5. I have watched too many two year colleges "grow themselves"

Richmond Professional Institute is now Virginia Commonwealth University

Norfolk Division of William and Mary is now Old Dominion University

Norfolk Division of Virginia State College is now Norfolk State University

Christopher Newport Community College is now Christopher Newport University.