A federal investigation into the admissions process at for-profit colleges shows some schools are helping students obtain fake high-school diplomas or cheat on required testing to receive financial aid.
But officials with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission said they don't know of any for-profit colleges in Tennessee that are admitting students with fraudulent credentials.
"It is surprising to me," said Stephanie Bellard Chase, assistant executive director for postsecondary school authorization at the commission. "I wasn't aware that this was going on."
The U.S. Government Accountability Office report on the admission practices of for-profit colleges, which was presented to a congressional subcommittee on higher education last month, showed some schools helped obtain fake diplomas for students who did not actually graduate high school.
The report also showed that students either were given answers or had their incorrect answers changed on ability- to-benefit tests, which some schools use for admission when students do not have a high school diploma or a general equivalency diploma.
"When students who do not have skills needed to succeed in school are fraudulently given passing scores on the ability-to-benefit test or directed to diploma mills for fake high school degrees, they are at greater risk of dropping out of school, incurring substantial debt and defaulting on their federal loans," the report read.
Tony McFadden, vice president of Chattanooga College, a for-profit college that offers medical, dental and technical degrees, said officials at the school won't accept a diploma from a student applying for financial aid or admissions unless it is from an accredited high school.
Once students produce a credible high school diploma, they are tested for placement, and test providers do not help students cheat, he said.
"If they pass, they pass, and if they fail, they fail," Mr. McFadden said.
Chattanooga College, in the Eastgate Town Center, enrolls 440 students and charges about $15,000 for a degree.
Officials at Miller-Motte Technical College and the University of Phoenix, both large for-profit colleges with locations in the Chattanooga area, said their employees don't allow potential students to skirt requirements.
"We don't accept anything from a diploma mill," said Lisa Roche, community outreach leader at Miller-Motte in Chattanooga. "We have very stringent guidelines.
"What we are trying to do is make sure that students seeking higher education are coming in here with the capability to be taught," she said.
Mrs. Bellard Chase said schools would be unwise to help gain admission for students who aren't prepared for college. By doing so, the schools increase their dropout rate, which is monitored by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, she said.
Schools with a dropout rate of more than 33 percent can be closed, Mrs. Bellard Chase said.
"In the long run, (these practices) will hurt the institution," she said.
BY THE NUMBERS
* 167 -- For-profit institutions authorized in Tennessee
* 331 -- For-profit locations in Tennessee
* 71,000 -- Students who attend for-profit colleges in Tennessee
Source: Tennessee Higher Education Commission
Joan Garrett has been a staff writer for the Times Free Press since August 2007. Before becoming a general assignment writer for the paper, she wrote about business, higher education and the court systems. She grew up the oldest of five sisters near Birmingham, Ala., and graduated with a master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama. Before landing her first full-time job as a reporter at the Times Free Press, she ...
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