The Biden administration is wrong to paint all for-profit colleges with same brush | Opinion

The last four years of the Biden administration have been brutal for for-profit education. With four-year college enrollment on the decline, the Biden administration’s higher education legacy will be marred by its wrongful attacks and misunderstanding of the critical role for-profit schools play in the economic success of millions of Americans — something I’ve seen firsthand as the founder of a mentorship and training platform that works to give young people just starting their careers crucial skills.

The actions of a handful of questionable players — such as the defunct for-profit Art Institutes — have been leveraged and bludgeoned against the entire for-profit education sector, including various universities, boot camps and educational technology companies. But the Biden administration is overlooking the fact that for-profit education providers fill a critical need in the higher education landscape.

Students come from a variety of backgrounds, including different socioeconomic circumstances, education levels and professional experiences. All these variables inform how a student progresses in obtaining a degree. The government must address all types of learners in our academic ecosystem, as college and secondary degrees continue to be one of the best indicators of economic success.

An example of those served by the for-profit education sector are students who are not prepared to go to college immediately after high school. Some want a college education but haven’t been able to afford one. Others need to spend a few years working before they can be convinced that a college degree is right for them.

The reality is that ivy-covered buildings and picturesque quads that most of us associate with college campuses represent one narrow path to a college degree — one that serves a corresponding narrow student profile: Students who attend and find success at traditional four-year institutions overwhelmingly have parents that attended college themselves.

We live in a country where 62% of adults don’t have a higher education degree, leaving millions of learners without an experienced support system to help them complete a traditional four-year college degree. Only 26% of first-generation college students graduate with a degree, compared to an 82% graduation rate among those whose parents graduated college.

As a rule, for-profit schools understand their average learner profile looks different. Students who need additional support to finish assignments, motivational coaching and soft skills training tend to thrive at for-profit institutions. Through my mentees, I have observed for-profit schools providing these students with a less intimidating pathway to success in higher education.

This isn’t to say that all for-profit schools are the same, or that all for-profit schools are inherently good. The Art Institutes International were guilty of preying upon unwitting students by inflating their student employment outcomes. The issue is that the Biden administration has painted all for-profit schools with the same brush, using high-profile examples to impugn even well known reputable schools such as Grand Canyon University with fines and frivolous investigations.

Instead of pinning the blame entirely on for-profit institutions, the next Department of Education needs a more nuanced approach. Perhaps applying an accountability rubric to both schools and their students would level the playing field across all types of educational institutions. It may be that a school — whether private or public, for-profit or nonprofit — is not providing their students with the education they need to be successful. And if students were misled, they may well deserve to have some of their student loans forgiven. However, I have seen in many cases that the students have not held up their end in terms of attendance, completing homework assignments or staying focused upon completing the education that they signed up for.

Yet instead of examining each school and student independently and on their own merits, the Biden administration has pushed a narrative that for-profit schools do not drive value, assigning any failures of the student explicitly to the school. Grand Canyon University, for example, has a graduation rate that’s on par with reputable nonprofit institutions, yet Biden’s Department of Education targeted the school with excessive fines and penalties.

The Biden administration’s persecution of for-profits aligns with its general stance towards student responsibility, as seen through its student loan forgiveness policies. In wiping out billions of dollars in student loans, the Biden administration is inherently telling students that any issue they have in paying back their loans isn’t their fault. They are victims of the institution regardless of the effort (or lack thereof) that they put into obtaining a degree and employment thereafter.

There is a valid argument that some institutions should be put out of business, but their tax status alone should not be the driver of this decision. An accountability rubric that provides an impartial assessment of the school as well as student performance would create a sound standard.

In assessing the future of higher education in the U.S., we need a system that balances accountability while encouraging both schools and students to put their best foot forward. Applying a transparent set of metrics to consistently evaluate for-profit and nonprofit institutions will ensure all parties are treated fairly — students, schools and taxpayers.

This story was originally published January 11, 2025 at 6:01 AM with the headline "The Biden administration is wrong to paint all for-profit colleges with same brush | Opinion."