U.S. senators ask FTC to probe third-party marketing to students

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Four U.S. Senators called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate third-party online marketing companies that they say often use deceptive practices to recruit on behalf of for-profit colleges.

The companies, known as "lead generators," "have become a key part of the aggressive recruiting strategy for many for- profit colleges," the senators wrote in a letter today to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

They said while the companies promise to connect students with admissions offices of well-known non-profit schools, the companies instead send student information to for-profit colleges.

The four senators, all Democrats, are Dick Durbin of Illinois, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, and Barbara Boxer of California.