College Inc. Redux is Overdue

We desperately need a PBS Frontline updating of College Inc. This 2010 documentary by Martin Smith and Rain Media took us behind the curtains, into the big business of US for-profit higher education. At the time, College Inc. made an important statement: that for-profit higher education had become a racket, funded by greedy Wall Street investors, and that government oversight was necessary to rein in the worst abuses at schools like Corinthian Colleges and Ashford University.

 

 

From 2010 to 2012, the Senate Harkin Commission researched and exposed the systemic abuses of the largest for-profit colleges. And under President Obama, some of these abuses were addressed through policy changes at the US Department of Education, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Defense. 

 

Times Have Changed, Not In a Good Way

 

Much has happened in the last decade and a half since College Inc. was produced. US higher education did not become less predatory, even as a number of for-profit colleges (Corinthian Colleges, ITT Tech, Art Institutes, Le Cordon Bleu, and Virginia College) were shuttered. Republicans worked to ensure that meaningful policy changes, like gainful employment safeguards, were blocked. And some of the worst predators (Kaplan and Ashford) morphed into businesses owned by state universities (Purdue and University of Arizona).

 

Online education has become pervasive despite concerns about its effectiveness. Content creators and facilitators have replaced instructors at large robocolleges like Southern New Hampshire University, Grand Canyon University, Liberty University Online, and the University of Phoenix. 

 

The for-profit (aka neoliberal) mentality has spread. Online Program Managers (OPMs) have brought for-profit education to non-profit institutions, carrying with it an enormous cost to consumers. Advertising and marketing has become out of control, helping fuel a manufactured College Mania of anxious parents and their children. 

 

Despite the College Mania, folks have become more skeptical of higher education, and for good reason. Student loan debt has further crippled the lives of millions of Americans as Republicans have stepped in to block debt forgiveness. Community colleges and some state universities have gone through significant enrollment declines. Small colleges have closed. And elite colleges have become more wealthy and powerful and controversial. Something not on the radar in the 2010 documentary or in popular culture at the time. 

Academia Insider (Andy Stapleton)

Andy Stapleton of Academia Insider provides a great public service to consumers by exposing the social realities of graduate school education. These YouTube videos should serve as an antidote to the College Mania! that persists in our society and pervades our popular culture--helping higher education consumers become more conscious of their most significant (and costly) life choices.

This YouTube video shows the bottom of the barrel, fake PhD's from diploma mills.  It's not something that has gotten much media attention, but it looks like a problem, especially for employers doing their due diligence in hiring. 

Stapleton provides many other videos that cover a variety of topics: from grad school applications to finding work after graduate school.  

 

Related links:

 

Academia Insider website 

 

Andy Stapleton's YouTube Channel

For-Profit College Owners Charged for Selling Fake Nursing Diplomas (David Halperin, Republic Report)

Zombie colleges roam the internet, here's how to spot a legitimate, living university (Chris Quintana, USA Today)

How You Pick Your College Could Cost You Lots (Mark Salisbury)

Is Your Private College Financially Healthy? (Gary Stocker)

Ambow's HybriU. Is any of this real?

Ambow Education is at it again, pumping up its stock with another edtech business deal. This time, they sent out a press release that a Singapore company called Inspiring Futures has reached a $1.3M deal for licensing Ambow's 3D learning platform HybriU. Shares of AMBO soared more than 200 percent on the news. In April, Ambow appeared at the ASU+GSV conference to pitch its latest technology. 

 

The Ambow Sales Pitch for HybriU 

"HybriU is currently the only available 5-in-1 total solution. It seamlessly integrates AI—empowering five key domains: teaching, learning, connectivity, recording, and management—along with lecture capture, immersive technology, and a comprehensive management platform designed specifically for the education sector. HybriU delivers a unified learning experience that transcends the boundaries of both online and offline education, bridges language and regional divides, and connects academia with industry."

"HybriU's cutting-edge 3D solution includes 3D signal capture, recording, transformation, and remote display capabilities. It supports broadcasting life-sized 3D projections of professors in remote classrooms via a 3D LED wall, enabling a highly immersive learning experience. Learners can engage in their native language while interacting with the 3D content, making the platform accessible and effective across diverse linguistic and regional boundaries."

But is any of this technology real? We know of no schools currently using HybriU.  And there are no video presentations available online. We have reached out to experts in edtech to evaluate Ambow's claims for the technology and will provide a follow up when we learn more. 

Inspiring Futures? 

Inspiring Futures, the Singapore company that made the deal with Ambow for licensing HibriU, was created four months ago and employs three people. Its headquarters is in an outlet mall. 

Ambow also operates out of a small space in Cupertino, California, after its move from the People's Republic of China. Ambow still owns and operates NewSchool, a real college in San Diego, California, that has been declining in enrollment.    

Workers at 2U expect more layoffs in 2024

After successfully completing its recent bankruptcy proceedings, 2U workers expect another round of layoffs.  2U, with its subsidiary edX, is the online program manager for dozens of elite universities, like Harvard and Yale, who offer their brand names to sell online degrees and certificates.  But two schools, the University of Southern California and Fordham, have distanced themselves from the company. 2U's new board chair of is Brian Napack, who served as an executive at John Wiley and McMillan, two other companies that have faced financial challenges. 

Related links: 

2U Collapse Puts Sallie Mae and SLABS Back on the Radar (Glen McGhee)

2U Suspended from NASDAQ. Help for USC and UNC Student Loan Debtors.

2U Declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Will Anyone Else Name All The Elite Universities That Were Complicit?

HurricaneTWOU.com: Digital Protest Exposes Syracuse, USC, Pepperdine, and University of North Carolina in 2U edX Edugrift

2U-edX crash exposes the latest wave of edugrift

2U Virus Expands College Meltdown to Elite Universities

Buyer Beware: Servicemembers, Veterans, and Families Need to Be On Guard with College and Career Choices

EdTech Meltdown

Erica Gallagher Speaks Out About 2U's Shady Practices at Department of Education Virtual Listening Meeting 

2U Declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Will Anyone Else Name All The Elite Universities That Were Complicit?

2U declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy today and the company is now valued at less than $5M. That's a small shadow of the $5.4B perceived value it had in mid-2018.

As a company that will be owned and operated by vulture capitalists (VCs), 2U (TWOU) and its subsidiary edX will fall below the radar. But that won't stop the company from ensnaring more students for overpriced "elite" and "brand name" degrees and certificates--as it tries to survive. In fact, it might make it easier. The visible economic market and its media won't care anymore. 

According to Higher Education Dive, backers of the latest scheme include three vulture capital firms: Mudrick Capital Management (Madison Avenue in NYC), Greenvale Capital (London) and Bayside Capital (Miami/London). 

Somehow, these VC firms will try to extract value from the bankruptcy deal. But how they do that is a mystery. C-suite executives have already gotten some of their bonuses, leaving little else for workers. Reducing labor costs (firing people) will be essential. Not paying their bills is another. Continuing to deceive consumers would be difficult to change. Even after the deal, 2U will still be laden with more than $400M in debt.

Since 2019, we have tried to expose 2U and its business practices, as well as the role of elite university partners in enabling the sale of advanced degrees and edtech certificates that led to few good jobs and lots of consumer debt.  When they acquired edX from Harvard and MIT for $800M, we doubled down.

The Higher Education Inquirer has been the only outlet to name the elite schools that were complicit in this scheme that took money away from consumers just trying to get ahead. Not just USC, but Harvard and MIT, and Yale, and Cal Berkeley, and the University of North Carolina, and Syracuse, and Pepperdine, and many others. Check out the links below to learn more about how this higher ed scheme developed and collapsed. And how this is just the latest wave of edugrift. 

 

Related links:

HurricaneTWOU.com: Digital Protest Exposes Syracuse, USC, Pepperdine, and University of North Carolina in 2U edX Edugrift (2024)

2U-edX crash exposes the latest wave of edugrift (2023)

2U Virus Expands College Meltdown to Elite Universities (2019)

Buyer Beware: Servicemembers, Veterans, and Families Need to Be On Guard with College and Career Choices (2021)

College Meltdown 2.1 (2022)

EdTech Meltdown (2023)  

Erica Gallagher Speaks Out About 2U's Shady Practices at Department of Education Virtual Listening Meeting (2023)

HurricaneTWOU.com: Digital Protest Exposes Syracuse, USC, Pepperdine, and University of North Carolina in 2U edX Edugrift

A new website to inform student consumers has popped up. It's called HurricaneTWOU.com. The website authors identify themselves as a group of former graduate students who want to warn prospective students about what's happening at brand name programs managed by 2U and edX. And they are asking existing students to take a strategic leave of absence. 

The authors also provide information on submitting borrower defense to repayment (fraud) claims to the US Department of Education to have federal student loans forgiven.

The problem is, many consumers are unaware that the brand name schools they are attending online are paying a lion's share back to an online program manager, 2U-edX.  When some consumers cannot find gainful employment after completing their programs, enough to pay off their student loans, they start digging. What they find is that the brand name schools are barely involved in the schemes, other than to take their cut. Even the instructors, poorly paid adjuncts, are employees of the online program manager.

A number of 2U-edX programs are mentioned on HurricaneTWOU.com, to include certificate and graduate degree programs at Syracuse, USC, Pepperdine, and the University of North Carolina.  The authors are organizing an effort through a number of non-violent means, including a petition to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In addition, they are asking people at 2U-edX to provide information to help their cause. 

 

Related links:

2U-edX crash exposes the latest wave of edugrift 

Erica Gallagher Speaks Out About 2U's Shady Practices at Department of Education Virtual Listening Meeting

 2U Virus Expands College Meltdown to Elite Universities