Many of Georgia’s private, nonprofit colleges are failing students, with many of them not graduating, earning low wages and unable to pay their student loans.
The findings are part of an analysis by Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that used data from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard to investigate how well low- and moderate-income students fared at the schools. The report includes data on full-time, loan-holding students at four-year private, nonprofit colleges.
The report includes data on more than 1,000 schools, including 27 Georgia institutions such as Mercer, Covenant, Brenau, Oglethorpe, and Berry colleges and universities.
At the average Georgia private, non-profit school, more than 4 in 10 students earned annual salaries less than $25,000 six years after enrollment - the same pay expected of someone with only a high school diploma. Also, at these Georgia schools, 29 percent of students are unable to make payments on their student loans within three years. Using K-12 standards, 21 out of the 27 Georgia schools in the report would be considered “dropout factories” that graduated less than two-thirds of of their students, the analysis found.
Some of the poor performers cited in the report were:
- Reinhardt University, which graduates only 28.3 percent of its student body each year
- Paine College, which had a low completion rate, 21.61 percent for its students, along with low ratings for for student earnings and loan repayment. Last week, Paine College's accreditor recommended the college lose its accreditation.
- Brewton-Parker College, where students have an 8 in 10 chance of not graduating
The report listed Emory University along with Spelman and Agnes Scott colleges as notable exceptions.
Emory was found to have the highest graduation, earnings and repayment rate and was one of a few schools in the country reviewed in the report to also accept more than 20 percent low-income Pell students and have a graduation rate higher than 85 percent. Spelman and Agnes Scott were found to be two of only six schools in the country with a higher than average Pell population and to graduate more than two-thirds of their students.
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