The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities is the primary lobbying group for the for-profit college industry. As we’ve reported before on Republic Report, some APSCU member schools have a record of fraudulent practices: targeting veterans and low-income people for recruitment while maintaing atrocious drop-out and loan default rates. APSCU and its members spend thousands of dollars lobbying politicians from both parties, while its schools are financed primarily by government grants and loans to students. APSCU essentially works on behalf of numerous predatory schools that deceive students on the taxpayer’s dime.

But if you visit its website, APSCU seems to represent crowds of smiley, diverse students. The APSCU website homepage exclaims that it gives “more Americans more option in higher education” and is “committed to putting students first.” This is next to a photo of a diverse crowd of smiling students (pictured above).

However, it appears these exact students are equally excited about the following websites:

• CareNet Pregnancy Services of DuPage

• ATAX Accounting and Financial Services

• RentAFriend — “the world’s largest ‘Rent A Friend Agency’ (perhaps most useful for APSCU)

Okay, admittedly, lots of websites have to use stock images (including this one). But you’d think the primary lobbying organization for for-profit colleges would be able to find an actual group of students to feature on its website — not a fake one.