Corinthian Colleges are closing their doors come next Monday. After years of federal investigations into its loan practices, the college is forced to admit that it bilked thousands of hopeful students, the government and various other institutions in order to line the pockets of the organization's owners.
With the pressure on today's young people to get some kind of higher degree in order to succeed in the workplace, Corinthian branded itself as an organization that could help students get these degrees and certifications, and would make sure they could afford the classes by helping them take out loans that most should never have been approved for. These students are now tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and with no way to pay the loans back. Promised jobs never materialized even as debts piled up.
Corinthian is just one of many for profit colleges out there, and they are all branding themselves as part of the future, able to help young adults get ahead in today's world of technology. What happens when a brand lies to its customers? Hopefully, the brand gets its rugs pulled out from under it and people go to jail.
With the collapse of a for profit collegiate brand because of financial mismanagement, others of the same ilk will be scrutinized as well. And their students should be scrutinizing on their own. Remember, a college's brand will be looked at when you go to get a job.
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