e-Learning Pundit

+ The ever-astute Stephen Burd has returned in fine form.  Be sure to check out his recent piece in the Washington Monthly.

…Theresa Sweet, a thirty-three-year-old California resident, took out about $100,000 in private loans between 2003 and 2006 to study photography at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, which is owned by the Career Education Corporation. At the time, she says the Brooks recruiters—who have frequently been accused of misleading students—told her that graduates of their photography program typically made at least $60,000 straight out of school. In fact, since graduating three years ago she has been unable to find paid work in her field, and, while she has managed to get forbearances on her student loans, the interest has continued to stack up. She now owes more than $200,000…

Two-Hundred Grand after tacking on interest? $100,000 seems bad enough.

Steve brings up many great points in this well-written report, including this:

…Just publishing lifetime default rates would give prospective students a clearer picture of the risks of enrolling in a particular school. But the impact would be far greater if Congress used this data, along with graduation rates, to weed out abusive institutions; ideally, any school that failed to meet a certain threshold should be kicked out of the federal financial aid programs…

Not a bad idea.  In fact, Tennessee has initiated some measures which are designed to filter out schools that abuse the system.

+ Newsweek: “An Education in Student Loans”.