One For-Profit College Bites Back
Written by admin on November 23rd, 2010Still reeling from the recent onslaught of national criticism, one for-profit in Florida has decided to fight back. Keiser University, a Fort-Lauderdale based for-profit school has filed a lawsuit against a local community college for its “destructive media campaign.”
In its lawsuit, Keiser is accusing Florida State College at Jacksonville of conspiring to tarnish the for-profit’s reputation by spreading untrue and inaccurate stories about graduation rates and supposed academic failings via various local media outlets.
For-profit education institutions have enjoyed enormous growth and popularity in recent years, especially during times of economic depression “as many unemployed workers opted to go back to school.” But, as recent reports called out faulty for-profit recruiting practices, for-profit institutions have been put through the ringer not only by the government, but also the nation’s media.
Typically, for-profits have seen significantly larger graduation rates than their community college counterparts and up until recent damaging media reports, for-profit education institutions, especially online schools, have been a popular way to earn a degree for busy moms or full-time employees with not a lot of time.
Florida State College at Jacksonville has added fuel to the fire, discouraging students from enrolling at Keiser and attacking the for-profit from all sides. Says Keiser lawyer James Waldman, “they have essentially harmed not only the reputation of Keiser but they’re devaluing the degrees that our students are obtaining.”
If unwarranted criticism and smear-campaigns of for-profit colleges and universities?continue, most will wager that Keiser will not be the only one “biting back.”
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