The New York Times ran an interesting piece last week about the rise of for-profit colleges and the surging enrollment numbers they’re seeing during the recession. In New York state, there’s been a 61 percent increase in the number of students attending for profit schools over the last decade (compared to a 15 percent increase at SUNY). For-profit institutions like Devry and the University of Phoenix are luring students by touting their career placement numbers (Devry claims that over the last 30 years, 90% of its graduates had jobs within six months of finishing their studies) and their tight focus on giving students ready applicable skill sets.
