In recent years, one of the most interesting (although not necessarily beneficial) trends in higher education has been the emergence of for-profit, mostly online colleges, most notably the University of Phoenix (UoP, who now has physical campuses in 39 states, along with their Internet courses). So now that UoP has had some time to “mature,” how are they doing compared to traditional colleges? As the New York Times reports, the answer is a decidedly mixed bag:

Its reputation is fraying as prominent educators, students and some of its own former administrators say the relentless pressure for higher profits, at a university that gets more federal student financial aid than any other, has eroded academic quality.

According to federal statistics and government audits, the university relies more on part-time instructors than all but a few other postsecondary institutions, and its accelerated academic schedule races students through course work in about half the time of traditional universities. The university says that its graduation rate, using the federal standard, is 16 percent, which is among the nation’s lowest, according to Department of Education data. . . .

But many students say they have had infuriating experiences at the university before dropping out, contributing to the poor graduation rate. Current and former students . . . complained of instructional shortcuts, unqualified professors and recruiting abuses. Many of their comments echoed experiences reported by thousands of other students on consumer Web sites. . . . Students say they liked recruiters’ descriptions of the classes, but after enrolling concluded that they were learning too little or paying too much. Many who quit say they were left with huge debts.

The article notes that there are still several lawsuits pending against UoP and that accusations still linger about whether it pays recruiters commissions based on the number of students (many who turn out to be unqualified) they sign up, which is against federal regulations. Ultimately, as my earlier post on the dangers of mixing capitalism and education describes, and as reinforced in this NYT article about UoP, there is almost always an inverse relationship between the obsessive drive for profit and the quality of education.

A cautionary tale to students who value a quality education: just say no to for-profit schools -- there is no easy shortcut in this case.