--- title: What the Next President Can Learn From Trump University description: We should be holding all colleges accountable for bare minimum levels of performance canonical: https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/ author: The 74 article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-04T15:00:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:35.957Z article:section: Ideas og:title: This Is What the Next President Can Learn From Trump University og:description: We should be holding all colleges accountable for bare minimum levels of performance og:url: https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcd9786721b7fad4/69888037196cf48a0a03a9f0/trump6.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on March 3, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is What the Next President Can Learn From Trump University twitter:description: We should be holding all colleges accountable for bare minimum levels of performance twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcd9786721b7fad4/69888037196cf48a0a03a9f0/trump6.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is What the Next President Can Learn From Trump University > Sponsored content. 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In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-loop-2026q3/newsletters?i=83ce6166-dbdc-4af4-bc2b-b62fbe77e928&cr=time-nl-loop-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Eleventh Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Eleventh Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oLxJkDU8.m3u8) (2:49)  _Published 2016-03-04_ by [The 74](https://time.com/author/the-seventy-four/) ## The 74 Mar 4, 2016 3:00 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on March 3, 2016. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on March 3, 2016. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [The 74](https://time.com/author/the-seventy-four/) ## The 74 Mar 4, 2016 3:00 PM UTC For higher education experts, it wasn’t hard to see [Trump University](http://time.com/4246394/donald-trump-university-98-percent-approval-lawsuit/) was a sham back when it opened its proverbial doors in 2005. Donald Trump’s for-profit “University” carried no accreditation, conferred no degrees, and yet made the promise to students: Just copy exactly what I’ve done and get rich! For up to $35,000, students were promised access to seminars, books and a “power team” of real estate experts, lawyers, brokers and lenders for mentorship. But what students got instead was information they could have gathered on Zillow, books they could have borrowed from the library and advice from unattached mentors with questionable levels of knowledge. By 2010, New York State education officials demanded the school to stop calling itself a “University.” (It is now called “The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative.”) By 2013, the New York Attorney General’s office filed a $40 million lawsuit against the “scam” on behalf of 5,000 allegedly defrauded students. At least three lawsuits (including two class-action suits) are still pending. The same sort of scam was also eventually recognized among some giant for-profit colleges that were accredited and degree-granting. After years of students getting stuck with federal student loan debt and no—or useless—degrees, heightened federal and state scrutiny led to plummeting revenues and student enrollment. Massive companies like the University of Phoenix, the Education Management Corporation, and Kaplan Inc. have now undergone new ownership; Corinthian Colleges has [shut](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/04/27/for-profit-corinthian-colleges-shuts-down-all-remaining-campuses) its doors; and various campuses of the Art Institute, Sanford Brown, and DeVry companies have closed. Meanwhile, thousands of student loan borrowers are now seeking to get their loans discharged. But here’s the real story: It’s not just these flagrant cases of alleged fraud—one-off “scams” and for-profit colleges—that rip off students and families. There are also traditional non-profit and public colleges that get billions in taxpayer subsidies, which dramatically underperform and leave students with debt they cannot repay. In fact, there are scores of college dropout factories and diploma mills. As with Trump University and other for-profit colleges, we should be holding all colleges accountable for bare minimum levels of performance. Consider that there are about 50 non-profit four-year colleges–public and private–that have college dropout rates in excess of 80%. There are another 40 non-profit institutions where over two-thirds of all students cannot repay as little as one dollar in principal on their student loans. Take Southern Wesleyan University, for example. It’s a small private non-profit college in Central, South Carolina. The overall graduation rate within six years of initial enrollment for all students at Southern Wesleyan aren’t great, but at least they are not at the abysmally low levels of for-profits: 43.5% of full-time freshmen stay and complete their bachelor’s degree, according to 2013 university data submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. But what is abysmal—and akin to the pain inflicted by for-profits—is that only one in six black students at Southern Wesleyan graduate within six years of initial enrollment. The University of South Carolina at Beaufort is similar. Except this time, it’s a public university in South Carolina that only graduates 16% of their black students within six years of initial enrollment. Or consider a [quartet](https://www.the74million.org/article/opinion-what-can-the-next-president-learn-from-trump-university) of private, non-profit historically black college and universities in South Carolina where no student has a greater chance than one in three to repay a single dollar of their student loans. These schools, and more importantly their students, need help one way or the other. Let’s be clear, we have poor-performing colleges not just in South Carolina and not just among HBCUs. In Nevada, you’ll find Nevada State College where only 14% of all students graduate within six years of initial enrollment. In fact, underperforming colleges can be found across broad swaths of our country, from Northeastern states like New York, Maine, and Massachusetts, to the Midwest states like Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, to Western states like California, New Mexico, and Washington and to the South like Arkansas, Georgia and Texas. Will the new President—regardless of party—prioritize these schools for improvement and taxpayer accountability? Will he or she ensure that the newly created “enforcement unit” within the U.S. Department of Education will investigate these colleges? Or will we see the concept of fraud in higher education broadened? Our country—our students and our taxpayers—cannot afford any more “initiatives” like Trump University or “colleges” like Corinthian’s schools. We need to learn from the lessons of Trump University and recognize that shams and frauds don’t just exist in unaccredited or for-profit endeavors, but also in the very fabric of our traditional higher education system. Time has come to wise up to the scam. The next President must do more to help and eventually hold all colleges accountable for equitable, quality service. _Mary Nguyen Barry is a policy analyst at Education Reform Now and the co-author of_ [_Tough Love: Bottom Line Quality Standards for Colleges_](https://edtrust.org/resource/tough-love-bottom-line-quality-standards-for-colleges/)_._ _This_ [_article_](https://www.the74million.org/article/opinion-what-can-the-next-president-learn-from-trump-university) _originally appeared_ _on_ [_The74Million.org_](https://www.the74million.org) ## Transcript [ APPLAUSE ] Mr. Trump, hi. Hello. How you doing? Nice to be with you Megan. Great to have you here. [ LAUGH ] You're looking well. You're looking well. How are you? [ LAUGH ] This campaign, for the last year, Donald Trump has basically mocked everybody with personal attacks. He's done so to people that are sitting on the stage today. [ APPLAUSE ] He's done so about people that are disabled. He's done it about every other candidate in this race. So if there's anyone who ever deserved to be attacked that way, it's been Donald Trump. He referred to my hands. If they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there's no problem. I guarantee you. And I don't think the people of America are interested in a bunch of bickering school children. They're interested in solutions, not slogans. [ CROSSTALK ] I think I'm talking. This little guy has lied. So much- Here we go! About my record. Here we go! The personal- You asked him about the economy, and the first thing he does is launch an attack about some little guy thing. You haven't employed one person. You ever heard of Trump Steaks? You ever heard of Trump Vodka? Yeah, you know what? All these companies that he's ruined! Take a look at Trump Steaks- People say everywhere I go You seem to be the adult on the stage. You're not going to stop the corruption and the cronyism by someone who has used government power for private gain. we are talking about waterboarding. I said it's fine. And if we want to go stronger, I'd go stronger too. Because frankly that's the way I feel. Yeah. [ APPLAUSE ] Time and time again in this campaign You've actually told the voters one thing only to reverse yourself within weeks of even sometimes days. I was always against going into Iraq. In fact, believe me I was always against. The most important election in the generation And he's trying to con people into giving them their vote, just like he conned these people into giving them their money. It's a minor civil case. Donald, learn not to interrupt. It's not complicated. Count to ten, Donald. Count to ten. Give me a break. Count to ten. You have yet to answer a single serious question about any of this. Will you give us a detailed answer about foreign policy any time you're asked on it? [ INAUDIBLE ] Putin said very nice things about me, and I say very nicely, wouldn't it be nice if actually we could get along with Russia. The question is do you think that Donald Trump is naive About the threat that Vladimir Putin represents. I'm not biting. In Russia, we need to tell them we're gonna arm the Ukrainians with defensive lethal weapons. Not what you said in the op ed. That is not what you said in the op ed. Donald, please, I know it's hard not to interrupt, but try. Breathe, breathe, breathe. [ LAUGH ] You can do it. Breathe. I know it's hard. I know it's hard but just- When they're done with the yoga can I answer a question? You cannot. I really hope that we don't see yoga on this stage. Well he's very flexible so you never know. Let me just ask the voters at home, is this debate you want playing out in the general election? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/"},"headline":"This Is What the Next President Can Learn From Trump University","datePublished":"2016-03-04T15:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:35.957Z","description":"We should be holding all colleges accountable for bare minimum levels of performance","url":"https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/","keywords":["politics","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcd9786721b7fad4/69888037196cf48a0a03a9f0/trump6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The 74","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-seventy-four/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcd9786721b7fad4/69888037196cf48a0a03a9f0/trump6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on March 3, 2016.","caption":"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on March 3, 2016.","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/","name":"This Is What the Next President Can Learn From Trump University"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch the Eleventh Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oLxJkDU8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-04T05:06:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oLxJkDU8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/","duration":"PT2M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4247622/trump-university/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```