Why WOULDN'T They Choose a For-Profit?
A recent blog post in Inside Higher Education was titled “Why Would They Choose a For-Profit?” (IHE, October 30, 2018) The content was one in a series of thinly veiled, or perhaps buck naked, snipes at for-profit higher education. Although the post is composed largely of the same tired litany of accusations to which the for-profit community has become accustomed, it takes a new approach. The attack this time is couched in terms of how a community college might compete with for-profits. The first strategy would be to advertise a lot. The author opines that students who are “targeted” by for-profits often don’t know that a given school is for-profit, and that they may be unaware of “the traditional status hierarchies in higher education.” Further, he characterizes these students as “desperate for a life change.” But wait, aren’t these the very same students for whom he is competing? As a student, why would I choose a high-status community c...