MDC a superior school
Letter writer Ernesto Perez of Dade Medical College misrepresents the successes of Miami Dade College.
Perez criticizes MDC’s administrators, citing a nearly half-billion-dollar budget yielding “only” a 17.7-percent graduation rate and millions invested in high-risk hedge funds.
What Perez conveniently ignores, however, is that MDC is that as a huge not-for-profit college, that the half-billion-dollar budget translates into only about $3,000 in funding per student per year.
In addition, the graduation rates of MDC reflect only those who complete their degrees in three years, and are not far from the national average of 20 percent, despite incredibly low per-student funding. That one-sixth of Miami Dade’s endowment is invested in high-risk markets should come as no surprise, as it is these markets that often offer the highest return on investment, so this merely shows that MDC knows how to create a balanced portfolio.
By mischaracterizing MDC’s successes, Perez tries to distract readers from the deceitful, predatory nature of for-profit schools.
Will Smith, Miami
This story was originally published June 17, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "MDC a superior school."