Cummings launches probe into for-profit schools
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Monday he will launch an investigation into executive compensation at for-profit colleges.
Cummings sent letters to 13 colleges Monday, including DeVry Inc. and Kaplan Inc., requesting they turnover compensation agreements for senior executives “as part of an effort to determine whether [their] salary, bonuses, and other compensation are appropriately tied to the performance of the students [they] educate, the vast majority of which pay for their education with federal tax dollars.”
Many students at the schools pay tuition with taxpayer-funded student loan programs, Cummings said. None of the schools are based in Maryland.
The Baltimore lawmaker has made executive compensation a top issue, including efforts to limit salaries and bonuses for executives at companies that benefited from federal bailouts.
Updated: Brian Moran, interim chief executive officer and president of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, called Cummings' request "just more politics" and said it "fails to acknowledge the important role private sector colleges and universities have in educating non-traditional students."
Comments
Even if (hahaha) the CEOs are making reasonable salaries, it's highway robbery to bill taxpayers for these ripoff schools that provide inferior education to low income, undereducated students desperate for better career prospects. Local community colleges provide better education at a much lower cost and the graduation rates of students who enter these shady programs are well under 50%. Those who do graduate rarely earn enough to pay off the loans. These companies are predators destroying lives of the poor and footing the rest of us with the bill. Absolutely no subsidized loans should be used to fund this garbage "education"!
Posted by: Darlene | December 12, 2011 11:22 AM
Cummings is the MOST overpaid man in Maryland.
He should be flinging fries at McD's for which he is more qualified than as a Congressman.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 12, 2011 1:20 PM
Mr. Cummings should commence a probe into Congress and his job and salary.
Posted by: mark | December 12, 2011 2:39 PM