Urges higher ed sectors to work together to meet President's 2020 goal
Higher education institutions such as those in DeVry's group of colleges and universities are increasing enrollments because they address a vast unmet need in American higher education, especially among "non-traditional students," a senior DeVry official said today before a U.S. Senate panel.
Private-sector institutions such as those of DeVry are also vital to achieving President Obama's college attainment goal, as the nation will need to produce an additional 8.2 million postsecondary graduates by 2020. This comes at a time when public institutions are being hit hard by state budget cuts and may not be able to add significant capacity, said Sharon Thomas Parrott, DeVry's senior vice president of government and regulatory affairs and chief compliance officer.
"The bulk of our country's higher education capacity is still filled by public sector schools. But institutions like ours grow for a reason – there is an enormous unmet need, especially among the so-called non-traditional student," Thomas Parrott said.
"The reality is that nearly 75 percent of students today are defined as 'non-traditional,' but are the 'new majority.' They are the first-in-their-family to go to college, minorities, recent immigrants, and career changers. Many of them work full time and have children. In the past, they could support themselves and their families with only a high school education. That's no longer the case," Thomas Parrott said.
Thomas Parrott's comments came in a session with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is reviewing federal expenditures at private-sector institutions through student grants and loans. About 10 percent of the nation's higher education students attend private sector colleges and universities.
Thomas Parrott noted comments by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at a policy forum DeVry held in Washington last month, where he said: "DeVry is a vital partner in the education field, which is what we need to meet the President's goal of having the most educated, most competitive workforce by 2020."
Thomas Parrott said the nation's education system will require innovative approaches to meet that goal -- such as the DeVry University Advantage Academy, a dual enrollment program it started with Duncan when he was CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The program gives CPS students the opportunity to graduate from high school and earn an associate degree by the end of high school at no cost to the student -- and using no public or private financial aid dollars. The program has achieved a dual degree graduation rate of 92 percent over six years. It is also offered in Columbus, OH.
DeVry is also helping address the nation's acute shortage of nurses through expansion of its Chamberlain College of Nursing, whose roots go back to 1889. Chamberlain is opening two new campuses in July in Arlington, Va. and in Chicago, Thomas Parrott said. She noted the shortage is expected to reach one million nurses by 2020, yet 99,000 qualified applicants are turned away from nursing schools every year due to lack of capacity.
While acknowledging being troubled by instances where program integrity is undermined, she cautioned policymakers about drawing "false distinctions" between educational sectors, saying all sectors must work together to meet the nation's education and economic goals.
"Issues like student debt and graduation rates are a serious concern for all sectors of higher education," Thomas Parrott told Committee members. "But I'm not interested in drawing false distinctions between what motivates a private-sector school and what motivates a state-funded public school. At the end of the day, if we are student centric, the ties that bind are greater than the lines that divide."
Continuing, she said, "No matter what kind of institution it is, it needs to serve students well or it won't and shouldn't survive. Our country needs to produce an educated workforce that can thrive in a rapidly changing global economy."
Thomas Parrott thanked the Committee for holding the hearings and said she looked forward to working with policymakers and educators to serve the nation's students.
About DeVry Inc.
DeVry's purpose is to empower its students to achieve their educational and career goals. DeVry (NYSE: DV, member S&P 500 Index) is a global provider of educational services and the parent organization of Advanced Academics, Apollo College, Becker Professional Education, Chamberlain College of Nursing, DeVry Brasil, DeVry University, Ross University Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, and Western Career College. These institutions offer a wide array of programs in business, healthcare and technology and serve students in secondary through postsecondary education as well as accounting and finance professionals. For more information, please call 630.353.3800 or visit http://www.devryinc.com.
Contacts:
Ernie Gibble
Senior Director/Global Communications, DeVry Inc.
egibble@devry.com
(630)
353-9920
or
Media Contact:
Larry Larsen
llarsen@sardverb.com
(312)
895-4717