As the coronavirus pandemic continues, for-profit colleges stand to benefit as some increase their advertising and enrollment efforts, touting online programs that could draw the newly unemployed.
But advocates for veteran education fear this is bad news for service members and veterans, who are historically targeted by for-profits that have poor graduation rates and high levels of student debt.
COVID-19 “will definitely be an opportunity for for-profit schools to capitalize on high unemployment, on people who may have delayed their educations in order to take job 
A year from now, “we expect a marked increase in the number of complaints we receive on false promises made during enrollment and false promises made in these advertisements that people have relied on during enrolling.”
Amid the pandemic, for-profit colleges appear to be expanding. For example, Ashbury University — which only graduates 25% of its students — announced it would hire 200 new enrollment advisors in response to rising interest from prospective students. Capella University, which has an 11% graduation rate, also reported an uptick in enrollment, The New York Times reported, as did Strayer University, which is owned by the same company.
In general, in an economic downturn, more people go back to school — any kind of school. During the most recent recession, total postsecondary enrollment increased from 17.2 million students in 2006 to 20.4 million students in 2011, according to a 2018 U.S. Census Bureau report.
But now, there’s not only high unemployment but a “huge incentive” for students to embark on the kinds of all-online programs many for-profits offer, as people find themselves stuck at home without work and without childcare, says Szymanski.
