Frontline, owned and operated by the Public Broadcast Service, fulfilled a complete and utterly repulsive smear campaign against for-profit universities. They specifically targeted for-profit schools where service members utilize their GI Bill for degree procurement. What they have done completely coincides with the Obama Administrations desires to diminish for-profit colleges and veteran advancements.
In recent years, the current administration has made significant attempts to reduce for-profit colleges. This initiative according to the Capital Research Center has been initiated by George Soros.
“They provide millions of college students, many of them older and working full-time, with flexible and affordable ways to acquire a worthwhile education. But a soon-to-be announced Department of Education regulation is set to penalize for-profit colleges for their high rates of student loan default. The federal crackdown on privately-operated for-profit colleges is prompted by radical philanthropist George Soros, a phalanx of stock manipulators, and left-wing activists and politicians.”
PBS, the organization that fired Juan Williams for speaking on his own personal thoughts that obviously did not parlay with their own organizational agenda, seeks to marginalize capitalistic advancements. They have only told half the story about for-profit colleges and their students in their Frontline episode.
Many for-profit colleges specifically recruit veterans because they understand that many continue to fight for this nation abroad. These types of students could not attend the traditional private or non-profit university due to operating abroad, having a full time job, or taking care of family unlike the more traditional straight out of high school student.
Henley Putnam University, a for-profit school, is ranked #1 for online education beating numerous non-profit institutions like Boise State and Seton Hall Universities.
It is understandable that some traditional students also have full time jobs and family however, these students are not in a system like our veterans. They are scattered and difficult to recruit in masses. The for-profit colleges are fulfilling a very unique business practice via targeting mass groups of individuals like veterans and law enforcement equally.
Higher education schools conduct their own unique recruiting. Some of the more traditional schools with sports programs are a prime example about unethical recruitment practices especially when they claim prospects have a great chance “going pro” because of their contacts in the National Football League. This does not claim that such recruitment practices are right or the common norm rather identifies that a good majority of schools recruitment practices are questionable.
When Frontline asked my friend Ted Daywalt, owner of the award winning Vet Jobs, about hiring manager’s decisions between hiring similar background individuals yet obtaining identical degrees between for-profit colleges versus “others,” he stated that they all have said in the past they would choose candidates obtaining degrees from the “other universities” versus those who attended the for-profit colleges. Ever wonder what these same hiring managers would say if the question was the same yet differentiating schools like Harvard versus a school like Marywood University? I am sure Ted would agree that HR Managers would choose the Harvard grad.
This one sided slant against for-profit colleges completely fits everything this current administration seeks to nullify the positive aspects of for-profit institutions. Senator (D) Tom Harkin who has been interviewed in the Frontline episode has gone on the warpath initiating attacks against for-profit colleges.
Needless to say, traditional private and non-profit schools have their advantages but so do for-profit institutions. The key is for students to fulfill their own research in deciding what school fits their desired outcomes best. Government and publicly supported entities like PBS have no right in marginalizing educational opportunities–especially for our service members.
Kerry Patton is the Co-Founder of the National Security Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization pending 501c (3) status. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of “Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies” and the children’s book “American Patriotism.” You can follow him on Facebook.
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