On Monday January 23rd, JOTF partnered with the Baltimore CASH Campaign and the Maryland CASH Campaign to host a public discussion on the seemingly predatory nature of recruitment and management practices of most for-profit trade schools.  

After opening remarks and introductions from JOTF's Executive Director, Jason Perkins-Cohen, Luke Swarthout, former Senior Higher Education Advisor for the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, began the discussion by providing an overview of what initially prompted a closer look into the practices of for-profit colleges and universities and the resulting congressional fixes.  Former Editor of Higher Ed Watch, Stephen Burd, discussed new regulations requiring for- profit colleges and universities to obtain at least 10% of their revenue from nonfederal sources to be eligible for federal student aid and new rules which would require for-profit schools to show that graduates are earning enough to pay down the loans taken out to participate in the courses.  Kimberly Jones, Associate Vice President of Public Policy for the Council for Opportunity in Education, discussed how low-income, first-generation minority students are specifically targeted and recruited by most for-profits due to their presumed lack of information, guidance, options and understanding of what would be required of them, especially financially.