Many Americans are struggling to find well-paying jobs in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. At a time when public universities are falling scandalously short in providing their graduates with the training and experience needed for an increasingly competitive job market, many students are discovering the benefits of private colleges that focus on training and preparing students for real work in high-paying, fulfilling careers.
This undeniable reality renders it beyond bizarre to see U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., routinely leading his Democratic congressional allies in partisan attacks against private colleges. Most recently, Scott latched upon the fact that some private for-profit universities had transitioned into not-for-profit private institutions as an opportunity to convene hearings and decry the alleged evils of private universities.
One wonders why Scott and his ideological compatriots are maniacally focused on bashing private universities while ignoring the far more pervasive problems of public universities? Perhaps Scott should concentrate on public universities with appallingly low graduation rates, as even left-of-center groups such as Third Way have criticized public colleges. These include schools such as the University of Maine at Augusta (13%) and College of Southern Nevada (12%) and Oklahoma State University at Oklahoma City (9.8%). Miami Dade College’s 32.7% graduation rate has actually been touted as a “success.”