McMillan Response

For-profit colleges, likely not what comes to mind when people picture higher education, are an option with few criteria that emphasize the necessity of closing towards their employees. The goal is to have students enroll, fill out financial aid paperwork, and come to the first week of classes. After that, it seems, the student and their financial situation, which is likely not overly prosperous or stable, becomes impersonal to the school, because the institution has obtained what it needs: money.

McMillan mentions that for-profit colleges’ livelihood is dependent on social inequality, and since this is not something that is going to disappear in the near future, for-profit colleges are, for the meantime, here to stay. This point calls into question the foundations of our society as well as the principles and purposes of education; demographic factors should not hold enough power to dictate one’s opportunities, yet they control or contribute to nearly every facet of life, and education should not exist for the purpose of making money, yet McMillan’s article sheds a light on this very occurrence. 

Personally I feel that education is a currency within society itself, but more than that it is a valuable experience that helps develop the character and intellect of an individual. It should not be reserved for only the privileged or majority members of society, nor should it be a method through which individuals are exploited. Taking advantage of people of lower economic positions and capacities makes a statement about the institution and with it calls into question the education they are providing; can character and skill be learned from a place that draws upon weaknesses for their own benefit and fails (or refuses) to see the harm they are doing upon those they are claiming to help? After all, these colleges prioritize profits over the best interest of their students, and thus one must wonder if members of the institution too are willing to sidestep the teaching/learning component of education, the true purpose, for the sake of economic prosperity.