Thread regarding Education Management Corporation layoffs

I agree with zd5 but first I would take corporations as much out of the mix as possible. They have a role to play in education but not to the intrusive extent we're seeing now.

I agree with mwz, where there is money there is greed and where there is greed there is unethical behavior. No college is immune. NYU had a scandle surrounding this recently. With the for profits, however, the unethical behavior is egregious and obvious, that's why they are being targeted first but all colleges and universities need an overhaul. The system of education in this country is failing as evidenced by gainful employment among other things.

Sadly for EDMC, the abuses were blatant. Corporate America saw an opportunity to access billions of dollars in public tax money and they took it. The connections were much easier to see and the fraud that much easier to prove. Hopefully, this Government action against EDMC will act as a platform for investigations down the road that will target the big universities. I think I see it starting to happen. The Obama administration has placed public money and a great deal of emphasis on Community Colleges. These actions haven't gone unnoticed. Large universities are worried and, in turn, have been successful in limiting the scope of academic programs at the Community College level. Regardless, Universities are currently under attack from a variety of sources and I am convinced reform will come. We just need to make sure these reforms work for everyone and not just a chosen few.

I agree with Zd5 as well. The non-profit UC system out in California funds Democrat candidates every election. So maybe that's why Obama only cares about shutting down corrupt for-profit schools. It's their competition. The truth is, many non-profit public colleges are just as bad. I read somewhere that president Gordon Gee at Ohio State makes $7 million a year at a non-profit college. All the highest paid presidents are at non-profit colleges. And others spend millions on useless amenities like rock climbing gyms (ASU) and tanning salons (MSU). So there is a bigger problem with all of academia, not just for-profits like EDMC and its schools. There's a lot of money on both sides:

https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=n00009638&type=I

http://dailycaller.com/2014/08/30/americas-seven-most-grossly-overpaid-college-presidents-ever/

ACCSC isn't any better at accrediting colleges but for some reason the DOE is ok with them.

Right, however, those of us that are honest with our students will tell them that they are not cut out for this type of work. Then, they go home and tell their mom's and then the mom's call the president and the president calls the academic director and then the instructor gets in trouble for telling them the truth. EDMC, Art Institute has NO INTEREST whatsoever in the students and their abilities. They ONLY care about the students money and, as we know, will sell out ANYONE at ANYTIME in order to gain or keep any money they have. I HATE EDMC AND THE ART INSTITUTES.....!!!!

I don't know if for profits are even graduating 25 percent at this point so there's a significant spread between for profits and not for profits. The other issue has to do with recruitment practices. But in general, I agree, many colleges need to shut down because there are too many, and we need to come to terms with the fact that not everyone is well suited for college level work and would be better served learning a trade.

I agree with Zd5. While I'm not defending edmc, why is it okay to let a kid graduate from an Ivy with 200K in debt and a degree in Art History, but outrageous and despicable to let a kid graduate from a for-profit with a degree in Fashion Design with 120 k in debt?

ACICS has always been a scam, I said this 10 years ago when no one was listening. Closing it down is not only the smart thing to do, its the right thing to do. Its always been a corporate shill so the For-Profits could look like they were real schools. You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. I never imagined this would actually happen, its better then my wildest dreams. Good by ACICS and your fake accreditation, next time I have a drink I will toast to your demise.

“Are we being asked to believe that the team that oversaw this systematic failure will be the team to turn it around?”. On a similar note, it's the end of June...EDMC Corporate and EC bonus season!!!! Let's lay off a few low life teachers, academics, and close a few campuses, leaving admissions mostly untouched to keep our six figure individual bonuses. Let's hope it's the last one for these crooks.