State officials and higher education experts are warning against for-profit colleges and other programs that lead to lots of debt and a worthless certificate.
GOVERNORS, STATE officials and higher education experts are banding together with a message for the millions of unemployed in the U.S.: Beware of the for-profit colleges, short-term certificate programs and degree mills that promise to teach critical skills for the post-coronavirus economy but instead saddle folks with student loan debt and a worthless certificate.
“Right now we’re thinking about getting people back to work and getting them in pathways quickly that get them some economic outcomes,” says Amanda Winters, program director in the economic opportunity division of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. “What most states are thinking about is what are the different degrees and types of work people do that require an industry credential or short term credential that gets great outcomes? There is not a lot of understanding about what those credentials entail.”
The National Governors Association, along with five other national organizations that represent state education chiefs, state legislatures, state higher education officials and policy experts, are partnering to provide the public with a better understanding of credentials and their value.