Embattled vocational school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. is mounting a marketing campaign that highlights its graduates and takes issue with proposed federal rules that could cut funding for students at some of the company’s schools.
The campaign, the first public response by Corinthian after months of regulator and investor scrutiny of the company and rivals, started over the weekend with ads in 10 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.
The ads target the federal Education Department’s proposed “gainful employment” regulation, which could cut off federally backed student loans to campuses where graduates take on too much debt starting next year.
Regulators also have proposed regulations that would curb aggressive recruiting and provide students with better information about the effectiveness of for-profit schools.
Santa Ana-based Corinthian’s ads contend the moves would have unintended consequences and could led to financial aid being cut for a million students with about 400,000 of them dropping out.
The figures are based on a study by Boston-based consulting firm Parthenon Group, which was hired by Corinthian to conduct the study.
The regulation also would result in 100,000 lost jobs in the for-profit education industry, according to Corinthian.
“We are urging the Department to put the brakes on this proposal before its unintended consequences take a human toll,” Corinthian Chief Executive Peter Waller said.
The company runs more than 100 campuses in the U.S. and Canada that offer degrees in healthcare, criminal justice and other areas.
Corinthian and other for-profit school operators boomed during the downturn as laid-off workers turned to them to train for new jobs.
Now the for-profit schools are under fire for students who took on took on more debt than they could afford.
Corinthian’s ad and a related website feature three students who have graduated from for-profit colleges and gone on to get what the company said are better jobs.
The campaign is geared toward lawmakers. Corinthian and others in the industry are hoping to find a sympathetic ear among some in Congress who think the proposed changes go too far.
“We undertook this campaign because Washington needs to see the real graduates and people behind the numbers,” Waller said.
Several legislators recently signed letters to Education Secretary Arne Duncan expressing concern about the regulation.
Many of the legislators have received campaign contributions from for-profit colleges this year.
Corinthian and others also could be hoping for a political sea change in November, when Republicans are expected to make big gains in the House of Representatives and Senate.
That could stem momentum for the Obama administration’s education reforms, according to analysts who track for-profit school operators.
