For Profit - Part 1: The Pain Funnel
episode
Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities
35 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the problem with for-profit colleges in America?
That's Evan. You heard from him a few weeks ago when he shared his experience with USC's online social work program. What Evan and his classmates didn't know at the time was that the program wasn't actually being run by USC. It was being run by a for-profit company called 2U. As we were doing research for that episode, it became clear that Evan's story was just one part of a much larger issue, for-profit education. It's a topic that we wanted to take a closer look at. These schools, they're notorious. Federal legislators have known about these shady behaviors for decades, decades. For over 30 years, a network of colleges and universities has preyed on America's most vulnerable students, luring them into taking out loans that they'll likely never be able to repay. Anytime you have a program that's the size of the federal student aid program, it's going to attract people who see it as a way to make money.
While these schools rake in billions of dollars, it's the students who are left saddled with debt. And so I put together this very extensive Google form and we got just under 500 borrowers to fill it out. And we were collectively $70 million in debt. Normally on Campus Files, we bring you a new story every week, but this topic is too big to cover in just one episode. So, over the next few weeks, we're bringing you a three-part story about for-profit colleges and universities in America. The series will be written and narrated by my colleague, Ian Montt. I'm Ian Mont. This week on Campus Files, for-profit part one, The Pain Funnel. This story begins outside the classroom, in the fantasy world of a video game.
Long ago, a lone sorcerer saved the last of his kind from an unstoppable invasion. Asheron's call was and wizardry and spells and archery game.
Who is Mike DiGiacomo and what is his background?
The Empyrean left this world to a race of insects, the Ulthoi. I had a character that was good with swords and a bow. He went on these little adventures and it was pretty fun. That's Mike DiGiacomo. Back in 2002, he was a supply and logistics specialist for the US Army, stationed in Alaska. By day, he jumped out of planes and tracked equipment. But off-duty, his world revolved around a video game called Asheron's Call. It was actually referred to me by some people that played from the barracks. It was very popular amongst the other soldiers that were playing. They always updated it and everybody would rush to try to complete the update to see who could do stuff first or just like hang out with friends or, you know, it was a community thing, so it was fun.
When Mike's time in the military was up, he was ready to leave his job, but not Asheron's call. He was so hooked on the game that he actually set his sights on working for the company that produced it. But there was just one problem. The military, of course, does not train its soldiers on animation or game development. So when Mike left the Army in 2002, he had a pretty good sense of what he wanted to do next. He wanted to be on the team that made Asheron's Call. It was owned by Microsoft, but ran by a company called Turbine, which was in Westwood, Mass. at the time. Mike grew up in Massachusetts, just outside Boston, practically next door to the offices of Turbine, the developers behind Asheron's Call.
It was actually made near my house, not even probably two miles from my house. So it was kind of like one of those like full circle things. And I was like, oh, well, that'd be cool. It felt like it was meant to be, especially because Mike had attended a specialized vocational high school and already had digital art skills at a time when computer skills were relatively rare. But there was a hiccup. Turbine only considered applicants with an undergraduate degree and a portfolio of animation work.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the problem with for-profit colleges in America?
0:22–2:39
2
Who is Mike DiGiacomo and what is his background?
2:39–6:13
3
Why did Mike choose Gibbs College for animation studies?
6:13–10:13
4
What challenges did Mike face during his time at Gibbs College?
10:13–12:34
5
How did Mike’s internship experience at Gibbs College affect him?
12:34–15:05
6
What was the outcome of Mike’s education at Gibbs College?
15:05–19:27
7
Why did Mike decide to attend the New England Institute of Art next?
19:27–21:18
8
How did the New England Institute of Art compare to Gibbs College?
21:18–35:08
Speakers
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