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“Shattered”

Each year, tens of thousands of American students are harmed by predatory colleges and universities. These are their voices. These are their stories.

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In 2019, Student Defense partnered with the filmmakers of the award-winning higher education documentary, Fail State, to build “Shattered.” This living database aims to document and maintain the stories of American college students who have had their lives ruined by predatory colleges and universities.

  • Each year, tens of thousands of unsuspecting students fall victim to predatory and fraudulent colleges and universities—the vast majority of these institutions are for-profit schools. These profit-driven colleges are expensive, low-quality, often lack proper accreditation, or are so poor in reputation that employers do not recognize their credentials. These institutions derive nearly all of their revenue—tens of billions of dollars a year—from the American taxpayer in the form of student loans, military benefits, and Pell Grants. 

    The students who are targeted by these colleges are predominantly low-income, minority, military service members, and veterans. Predatory colleges spend billions of dollars a year on advertising and marketing. Their commercials fill daytime T.V. and popular radio channels in all languages. Their recruiters prey on homeless shelters and soup kitchens, VA hospitals and military bases. 

    Millions of Americans in student loan default today attended a for-profit college. Most have no legal recourse because they unknowingly signed arbitration agreements waiving their right to sue in a court of law. What’s more, the U.S. Department of Education is actively attempting to roll back the few regulations in place to curb the most egregious abuses in American higher education, exposing another generation of Americans to waste, fraud, and abuse.

Rob Armour
Emmanuel Dunagan
Lakesha Howard-Williams
Jennifer Wilson

47%
of students who attend for-profit colleges end up defaulting on their loans

Source: Brookings Institution, "The looming student loan default crisis is worse than we thought", 2018

Robert Infusino

$29,650
The average debt balance for new graduates


Source: TICAS, "Quick Facts About Student Debt", April 2019

Marina Awed

$1.6 Trillion
Amount American Borrowers Owe in Student Loans


Source: Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Data (G.19), December 2019

Marie Johnson-Lattier

87%
Of For-Profit College Students Take Out Student Loans To Attend



Source: Demos, "The Debt Divide", 2015

Marion Lewandowski

52%
of students at for-profit schools don't graduate within six years


Source: National Student Clearinghouse, "Completing College", 2019

Kendrick Harrison
Jaime Murillo
Frederick Nelson
Luis Tayahua
Zach Turner
Murray Hastie
Bryan Babcock

About Student Defense

In 2019, Student Defense partnered with the filmmakers of the award-winning higher education documentary, Fail State, to build “Shattered.” This living database aims to document and maintain the stories of American college students who have had their lives ruined by predatory colleges and universities.

About Fail State

Executive produced by news legend Dan Rather, Fail State is a 2018 feature documentary that investigates the rise of predatory for-profit colleges in American higher education. Fail State debuted in December of 2018 on STARZ. 

Special thanks

Photos, videos, and interviews by Alexander Shebanow
Camera & Sound Operators: Terrence Crawford, Tyler Comes, Anastasia Damyan, Nicholas Adams

Additional student interviews by Fail State Documentary

Music supplied by Fail State Documentary, composed by Keegan Dewitt and Jeremy Bullock