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Justify the high price of an education

As arguments fly back and forth over the merits of forgiving some federal student loan debt, one thing seems clear: The quality and usefulness of the educations received at many of our nation’s colleges and universities simply does not justify the price.

Perhaps that is why there was less fuss over the full forgiveness of federal student loans acquired for attending Westwood College between 2002 and 2015.

The action will erase $1.5 billion in federal student debt for 79,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct for-profit college, according to the Education Department.

Westwood College closed its doors in 2016, after years of grossly exaggerating the chances of prospective students getting a good job after graduation. The school also claimed it would help graduates pay their bills if they could not find jobs within six months after graduation. They didn’t do that.

One example of the lies told was that those enrolled in the school’s criminal justice program in Illinois could expect jobs with law enforcement agencies such as the Illinois State Police — but the school never had the accreditation to meet employment requirements for that agency.

“Westwood operated on a culture of false promises, lies, and manipulation in order to profit off student debt that burdened borrowers long after Westwood closed,” said James Kvaal, under secretary of education.

Fine. That’s an easy one. But what are we going to do about all the other institutions of higher learning that also grossly exaggerate their value to graduates hoping for fulfilling, relevant jobs that pay well and can become careers?

If college educations are going to be so expensive they require the kind of money that has left so many desperate for loan forgiveness, shouldn’t they be providing educations that will help give graduates the financial means to pay off those loans as promised?

U.S. Education Department officials might want to have a word with the private educational associations that serve as accrediting agencies for all those colleges and universities selling what they do to students who feel forced to go into debt to chase their ambitions.

Institutions of higher learning should provide relevant, useful training (and exposure to new fields, ideas and people) that will propel a person, not burden a graduate for decades to come.

If accrediting agencies aren’t asking colleges and universities to provide that, it seems the federal government might want to redirect its efforts on the matter.

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