In recent decades, a troubling pattern in higher education has emerged: the for-profit sector contains too many low-quality and predatory institutions that have failed to deliver on the promises they make to students.
Recent cuts to federal agencies responsible for enforcing student loan borrower protections, including the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, may further incentivize bad-acting institutions to take advantage of students. With the passage of sweeping reconciliation legislation by Congress, students will also now face higher barriers to access relief if they have been defrauded by their school or attended an institution that suddenly closes its doors. In the absence of strong federal oversight, state leaders must consider how to best protect their students from predatory colleges that violate consumer protection and civil rights laws.
The negative outcomes associated with many for-profit colleges are of particular concern for Black students, who are disproportionately overenrolled at for-profit colleges at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and have faced targeted recruitment efforts.
This report from the Institute for College Access & Success offers a snapshot of Black student enrollment and outcomes at for-profit colleges paired with the perspectives of Black alumni of for-profit undergraduate and graduate programs.