“We’ve been extremely modest over the years,” he said.īaker spends more on marketing than student aid He said he believes Baker’s marketing efforts - costing $9.7 million in the 2019-20 school year, more than the college spent on financial aid - are necessary because its breadth of educational opportunities are not well-known. It did not comment for this story on the students or the experiences they described.īart Daig, Baker’s president and chief executive, talked to reporters last summer before declining additional interviews. In a statement to reporters, Baker emphasized a continuing commitment to improving student outcomes and reducing student loan debt, though it did not provide specifics. They also said the college is not allowed to restrict student borrowing. “I will never get that time in my life back,” he said.īaker officials, in response to questions, traced the school’s low graduation rate to its open enrollment policy of accepting virtually any applicant with a high school degree or GED. Today, Church drives a truck cross-country, with the hope that someday he can erase more than $30,000 he said he borrowed for a degree he never received. Then, after six years, he gave up in defeat. Intent on sticking it out, he took out loans to stay in school and navigated unexpected graduation requirements. Sometimes, it’s pure anger.ĭaniel Church poses for a photo in his truck.Īfter graduating from high school in 2013, Daniel Church pursued an ambitious bachelor’s/master’s degree program in computer technology at Baker but said the department began to lose faculty and fell into disarray. Or dismay about not getting their degrees. They describe confusion about shifting academic requirements and a lack of career counseling. “My friends and family can’t believe how successful I’ve been,” she said.īut others express frustration after seeing what was supposed to be a life-enhancing experience become a lifelong financial burden. She now lives in northern Virginia and manages a grocery store. Thanks to a scholarship, the school helped her transition from a tumultuous home life. “I think it is a great place for adult learners to engage,” said Jules Tarrant, who earned degrees from both Baker’s Flint campus and its online program. Some former students have no regrets about their time at Baker they’re grateful for a teacher or adviser who came through for them when they needed it. The new board chair is another longtime Baker executive who previously served as the institution’s top academic officer and a campus president. “It certainly is not doing best practices by any stretch of the imagination.” “I’ve never seen the president of an institution become the chairman of the board after he retires,” said James Finkelstein, a professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University who has studied higher education finances for decades. And a retired Baker president served as chair of that board until very recently - at the same time being paid more than a million dollars from the college for five years of part-time work.Įducation experts caution nonprofits against compensating board members, saying it can lead to decisions that are not in the best interest of students or the college. The president of the college, records show, serves on its Board of Trustees, which is supposed to provide a check on the decisions of the school administration. The Baker College campus in Owosso in October. Baker has the third-lowest graduation rate among 26 private four-year schools in Michigan. What the college’s ads don’t say is that less than one-quarter of its students graduate - far below the national average for private four-year schools, according to federal data. For decades, the school’s marketing touted low costs and employment rates of nearly 100% for job-seeking graduates - making the dream seem both affordable and achievable.īut for many, the Baker reality is neither, an investigation by the Detroit Free Press and ProPublica found. This article was co-published with ProPublica.īaker College sells itself as a place where students thrive and lives are transformed: “a haven for those who dream big.”įrom humble beginnings as a small business school in Flint, Baker rose to become the largest private college in Michigan, forging a presence in online learning and in Michigan towns where many students thought a college degree was beyond their grasp. Baker College graduate Bart Bechtel holds his diploma at home in Essex, Maryland.
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