VOA慢速英语2010年-Education Report - For-Profit Colleges

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

President Obama wants the United States to have the world's highest rate of college graduates. But his administration also wants stronger rules for colleges that operate for profit.

Career colleges receive billions of dollars from taxpayers¹ through student loans. The Education Department says some of that goes to waste and leaves students in debt for educations of little or no value.

To receive federal aid, career colleges must prepare students for what the law calls "gainful employment" in a recognized occupation. Two tests are proposed to see if they do.

One would measure the relationship between debt loads and how much students earn after they complete a program. The other would measure the rate at which all students repay their loans, whether they complete the program or not.

Programs that fail these tests could be restricted or blocked from federal student aid.

The Education Department says for-profit colleges and training programs are important. In two thousand eight they had close to two million students -- nearly three times more than in two thousand.

A 2009 photo of a billboard² in Chandler, Arizona, advertising³ the University of Phoenix⁴, a major for-profit chain of schools.

Last year, the five largest received more than three-fourths of their money from federal student aid. And that amount did not include other forms of government aid.

Yet officials say for-profit colleges may be less supervised than other schools. They also point to reports of highly aggressive marketing⁵.

For every one hundred graduates of for-profit colleges, eighteen fail to repay their federal student loans. That compares to five graduates of public colleges and universities.

The department is now collecting public comments on a number of negotiated rules. Some would require career colleges to release their graduation and job placement rates. The goal is to publish a final rule by November.

The Career College Association called the debt-to-earnings proposal unwise, unnecessary, unproven -- and unlawful. The group says it has found that students in higher priced programs are more likely, not less likely, to repay their students loans.

It says the move could eliminate programs serving three hundred thousand students. Female and minority students would face the most harm, it says, as they are more likely to attend career colleges.

The association also points to shrinking budgets for community colleges. Its president, Harris Miller⁶, says "Students need more information, not fewer choices."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Avi Arditti. I'm Steve Ember.
 

1 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

2 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。