The latest report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about wrongdoing by higher education online program managers (OPMs) felt disappointing to social justice advocates who watch the space and know the bad actors who were unnamed in the GAO document.
US higher education has always been a racket, but its latest
pursuits have gone untouched and even unmentioned. GAO’s behavior, though, is no worse than the
many other corporate enablers who are supposed to be minding government funds wasted –or worse
yet—used to prey upon US working families.
The US Department of Education
has done little lately to safeguard consumers from predatory student loan
servicers like Maximus and Navient, or subprime
universities like Purdue University
Global and University of Arizona
Global, and hundreds of small players who offer marginal education leading
to less than gainful employment.
The Department of
Veterans Affairs has done little lately to protect veterans and their
families from being ripped off by subprime schools. At one time, VA was a leader in tracking GI Bill complaints and making them public, but transparency and accountability are far
from what they were.
The US Department of Defense (DOD) has
been asleep at the wheel with its distribution of DOD Tuition Assistance funds
to subprime colleges. Its complaint
system is close to nonexistent.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have done little to rein in bad actors in higher education, leaving the work to states attorneys general. Hate crimes on campus have also been ignored. In other cases, elite university endowments have received little notice despite eyebrow raising profits. Student loan asset-backed securities are also below their radar.
During the pandemic, The Department of Treasury has failed to adequately oversee funds issued to the Federal Reserve and the Small Business Administration funneled to subprime schools.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which had done an adequate job investigating predatory lead generators and marketing and advertising false claims has been hamstrung by a recent court decision and can no longer fine higher ed wrongdoers. Predatory companies know this and will act accordingly—as criminals do when cops are not on the beat.
What lack of oversight have you seen with federal agencies
tasked to protect higher education consumers?
Related link: College Meltdown 2.0
Related link: Maximus, Student Loan Debt, and the Poverty Industrial Complex
Related link: 2U Virus Expands College Meltdown to Elite Universities
Related link: DOD, VA Get Low Grades for Helping Vets Make College Choices
Related link: The Colbeck Scandal (South University and the Art Institutes)
Related link: When does a New York college become an international EB-5 visa scam?
Related link: One Fascism or Two?: The Reemergence of "Fascism(s)" in US Higher Education
