By Wayne Langley, Director of the Higher Education Division at Local 615
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is investigating American Career Institute, which suddenly shut down its schools in the Bay State earlier this year, as noted in the Boston Globe. Other for-profit schools, like DeVry and Kaplan have also recently been in the news and come under closer scrutiny. Cities like Milwaukee are seeking to limit city money for colleges like those operated there by Corinthian Colleges, Inc.
Non-profit public and private colleges deserve no less scrutiny than for-profit colleges, especially when their tax-exemptions amount to millions of dollars a year. Non-profit universities are subsidized with federal, state and local dollars. The public has a right to know how much the public is investing in these schools and what public benefits we are getting in return for our investment.
While colleges and universities act as major employers and engines of regional economic growth, in challenging economic times, it is more important than ever that public resources be well spent. As cited in a Tellus Institute Report commissioned by SEIU Local 615 last year, Northeastern University, for example received $181.7 million in public support for the 2011 fiscal year.
Public subsidies, rising tuition and crushing debt demand a greater amount of accountability from colleges and universities, which is why SEIU Local 615 is once again supporting bills (HD2305 and SD790) that call for financial transparency in Massachusetts higher education institutes.
For more information, please contact me at wlangley@seiu615.org