Sorbonne Confidential

How US Congress, Guided by Lobbyists Helped For-Profit Colleges Cheat Students and Taxpayers

In the five years since Congress deregulated online education, enrollments at for-profit colleges have nearly doubled. Six major corporations owning for-profit institutions have enjoyed initial public offerings on Wall Street, with each promoting the rapid growth of online classes to investors and netting millions in compensation for executives. Revenues have doubled at the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University, two of the largest players -- so has the rate at which its students have defaulted on their federal loans.

The story of how this single snippet of legislation became law, propelling a collection of for-profit colleges into a full-scale industry, presents a classic case of the workings of power in Washington. It reveals the degree to which for-profit colleges -- now confronting accusations that they have preyed on students and cheated taxpayers -- owe their growth to a sophisticated lobbying effort that has cultivated powerful allies in Congress and in the administration of President George W. Bush. The lobby has played a crucial role in fighting off consumer protection rules that limited the companies' expansion opportunities

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Rapport parlementaire recommande de supprimer le CAPES, agrégation et concours de professeur des écoles

Un rapport parlementaire commandé par Luc Chatel à la demande de Nicolas Sarkozy recommande de supprimer les concours de recrutement pour les professeurs (Capes, agrégation, concours de professeur des écoles), qui permet de recruter les professeurs, rapporte RTL. Voir Enseignement: la fin du Capes ? dans Le Figaro

"Parmi les vingt propositions phare, il y en a une très audacieuse : celle de supprimer carrément le concours de recrutement des enseignants, le fameux Capes. Vu que les professeurs sont recrutés désormais au niveau master (Bac +5), plus besoin de passer en plus le concours d'enseignant. Le master d'enseignement leur suffirait pour postuler directement auprès des chefs d'établissement ou des autorités académiques. Ce sont eux qui choisiraient directement les futurs professeurs avec après un entretien individuel." Voir Le Capes va-t-il passer aux oubliettes ? RTL Info