Dick Durbin: “today I come to the Senate floor to discuss the issue of for-profit colleges. One may wonder how a Member of the U.S.…”

“today I come to the Senate floor to discuss the issue of for-profit colleges. One may wonder how a Member of the U.S. Senate takes up an issue. This came to my attention when a young woman in Chicago, IL, contacted our office and told her story. She was a conscientious young woman who wanted a college education, and, having graduated high school, she shopped around on the Internet and found the degree she wanted. It was a degree in law enforcement offered by Westwood College. Westwood is a for-profit college based in Colorado. She enrolled in Westwood, and 5 years later--5 years of classes later--she got her diploma in law enforcement from Westwood. She took it to every law enforcement agency in the Chicagoland area, and they said: Young lady, this is not a real college; this is one of those for- profit Westwood colleges. We don't recognize your degree. When she went to another place, she got the same reaction, and then she realized she had wasted 5 years of her life on a worthless diploma. But that is not the worst part. She incurred a student loan debt of $80,000 and she couldn't get a job. She moved back into her parents' basement. Her dad came out of retirement to help her pay off this loan, and she is going to take years to do it. She has postponed buying a car, getting her own apartment, or even considering marriage or a family. This was one personal tragedy that opened my mind.…”