Earlier this month, Kamala Harris, California’s attorney general, filed a lawsuit against Corinthian Colleges Inc., a for-profit company that specializes in selling one product: education. In this instance, the company was accused of distorting job placement rate figures, providing false and deceitful advertising and even illegally using the official U.S. military seals in order to attract veterans. Unfortunately, situations like the case of Corinthian Colleges Inc. are not unique. The puppeteers behind the for-profit industry have established an economic sector for the sole sake of rent-seeking. Such development is problematic, and we condemn the for-profit education sector as a whole.
On free-market and arguably moral terms, the idea of a for-profit college can make sense. More people have come to realize the value an education brings to their employment prospects, but they may not have the resources or abilities to attend nonprofit or public colleges. This is when for-profit colleges can enter the labor market — offering what many, especially those from low-income brackets, desire and demand. Based solely on these premises, for-profit colleges could also be seen as a moral force, supplying education to those who may appreciate their inherent monetary value the most.
But the for-profit college industry has not only ignored the only principles that give it legitimacy, but has also completely reversed them. Instead of filling a sorely needed gap in educational attainment, these companies allocate a huge portion of their budgets toward advertising and marketing — often at the direct expense of efforts toward improving the quality of education. Consequently, advertising frequently overstates the value of for-profit education, resulting in consumers overpaying for a service that does not deliver.
But instead of criticizing what the for-profit institution has now become, perhaps we should focus on how to provide a meaningful and rewarding college education to anyone who desires one. Education is a long-term investment whose values are realized through its effects on a society’s growth. If we commodify education in such a reductive way, quality will also suffer. After all, the industry in question has one principal concern: generating profit.
Education determines much of a person’s livelihood. It is meant to help the individual advance in all aspects of life. An entrepreneur or businessman can certainly fail at a business and still not compromise his values, wealth or even desire to create more businesses. But many of the students who have been tricked into attending these schools may lose not only the money they spent, but also something just as, if not more, important: the belief that education is valuable.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Daniel Jeon, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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