What a sad day for private nonprofit colleges, to have come to this. A couple of decades ago they arguably held the moral high ground with their higher tuition, higher aid model that charged the higher income more and the lower income less. At so many of these colleges, that high ground has been abandoned in favor of high-flying entrepreneurs and rank-oriented strategic planners who have been eager to collaborate with anything-goes lenders of the worst kind. That is evident in the NAICU survey. I would think twice before recommending such colleges to any prospective students, lest they become unwilling participants (for better or worse) in these unscrupulous schemes.

Colleges that want to clean up their ranks should thank Higher Ed Watch for shining a light on what has been a dark and disheartening corner of higher education, and showing the way out.