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https://www.wsj.com/articles/
usc-online-social-work-masters-11636435900

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'It started to feel like a degree mill,' says Mauri Jackson, a 2018
graduate of USC's online social-work master's program. Nitashia
Johnson for The Wall Street Journal
Education

USC Pushed a $115,000 Online Degree. Graduates Got Low Salaries, Huge
Debts.

The prestigious private university hired a for-profit firm to recruit
students to its social-work master's program; 'You don't feel like
you're part of an elite school'

'It started to feel like a degree mill,' says Mauri Jackson, a 2018
graduate of USC's online social-work master's program. Nitashia
Johnson for The Wall Street Journal
By
Lisa Bannon
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Lisa Bannon

  * Biography
  * lisa.bannon@wsj.com

and
Andrea Fuller
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Andrea Fuller

  * Biography
  * @anfuller
  * andrea.fuller@wsj.com

Nov. 9, 2021 10:28 am ET

Over the past decade, the University of Southern California has used
a for-profit company to help enroll thousands of students in its
online social-work master's program.

The nonprofit school used its status-symbol image to attract students
across the country, including low-income minority students it
targeted for recruitment, often with aggressive tactics. Most
students piled on debt to afford the tuition, which last year reached
$115,000 for the two-year degree. The majority never set foot on the
posh Los Angeles campus but paid the same rate for online classes as
in-person students.

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