For-profits -- Evil incarnate? Excellent opportunity?

Our Spring 2011 issue includes two articles on for-profits. 

From page 10:  "Newly-released internal training documents from several for-profit colleges illustrate a culture that encourages recruiters to increase enrollment by focusing on emotions such as “pain” and “fear” to attract low-income students who are struggling with adverse personal and financial circumstances." (Kirkham, Chris)

From page 11:  "we’re providing an estimated $26 billion in annual federal subsidies to the for-profit industry (Siegel) while our state institutions and community programs are facing hiring freezes and historically deep budget cuts. . . . For-profit colleges are often much more expensive than comparable public ones. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, one for-profit institution charged over $14,000 for a certificate in massage therapy that a local community college offered for just $520 (Kutz 18). 

Then there’s the issue of how the cost is covered: for-profit colleges take a disproportionate share of federal education loans. Although only 12 percent of post-secondary students go to for-profit colleges, they account for 23 percent of federal loans (Ananthalakshmi, and Mandavia). And students at for-profit schools default on their loans twice as often as their public school counterparts (Kelly), leaving taxpayers with the bill." (Dehn, Jeremy)

Discussion?