Washington, D.C. – Today, in response to the closing of Argosy University, a nationwide chain of for-profit schools that closed after the U.S. Department of Education pulled its eligibility for federal aid programs the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law released the following statement:
“Students of color disproportionately shoulder the harms of for-profit institutions and their financial instability, lack of transparency, and deceptive tactics. Many of those enrolled at for-profit schools are racial minorities, low-income students, and those who are the first in their family to attend college,” stated Brenda Shum, Director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “While Black and Latino students make up less than one-third of all college students, they represent nearly half of all those attending for-profit institutions which frequently leave their graduates with higher levels of student debt, risk of default and economic distress than their peers at non-profit colleges.”
“The closure of Argosy highlights the unique vulnerability of these students at for-profit schools and comes at a time when the U.S. Department of Education is rolling back protections for student borrowers,” observed Genevieve Bonadies Torres Counsel, Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Rather than promote educational and economic opportunity, many of these for-profit institutions do the opposite, aggressively pursuing students of color with deceptive advertising. This is a national problem with tremendous civil rights implications that demands the immediate attention of both our policy makers and the public.”
Thousands of students have been displaced by the closures, many of whom were set to graduate from master’s degree or doctoral programs. The rapid closure of these campuses and the lack of transparency throughout the process has left students scrambling to transfer credits to other programs. For-profit institutions are notorious for targeting the most vulnerable students to apply their federal student loan money to cover tuition at programs that may not prepare them for the career they seek. Those who graduate from a for-profit institution often do worse in the labor market than they otherwise would with only a high school education, even though the “credentials” promised may be 30% to 40% more expensive than the same credentials from a nonprofit public institution.
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 56th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.
Contact
Derrick Robinson, Lawyers’ Committee, DRobinson@LawyersCommittee.org, 202-662-8317
Reynolds Graves, Lawyers’ Committee, RGraves@LawyersCommittee.org, 202-622-8375
