DOE pushes on with the destruction of for profit schools

The DoE is working hard to push through a rule the impacts for-profit schools even though this ruling is currently under investigation by their own department's Inspector General.

Over at the DoE, they’ve been working with Wall Street short-sellers to push regulations that would all but destroy the for-profit education system. Short-sellers, who stand to make a fortune once that regulation is fully implemented and have zero expertise in education policy, have been intimately involved in the drafting “Gainful-Employment” rules that essentially mean a certain percentage of graduates have to get jobs related to their field of study in order for a for-profit institution’s students to qualify for financial aid. Read more at Big Government

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called on Mr. Duncan to answer why the rule must be imposed at the moment, when questions about the suitability of a HELP Committee hearing witness for Democratic Senator Tom Harkin are still unanswered.

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) had this to say about Senator Harkin's HELP Committee,

Not even trying to hide the partisan intent of the Health Education Labor and Pension (HELP) under Sen. Harkin’s leadership, today’s committee hearing was titled Drowning in Debt: Financial Outcomes of Students at For Profit Colleges. This is not the first time Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa) has convened the HELP committee to help grind his axe with for-profit colleges, and will likely not be the last. Given the intent and witness list for today’s hearing it is not surprising that Senate Republicans did not show up. What would have been the point?

The details of the ruling are:

...for-profit schools meet at least one of three criteria for their students to qualify for federal aid: at least 35% of graduates must actively be paying down their loans; graduates must spend less than 30% of their discretionary income on paying off loans; finally, graduates must spend 12% or less of their total income on loan payments. Fail to pass one of these tests three times in four years, and the school must close its doors for good.

Why is this significant? Tuition at for-profit schools averages about $10,000 per year less than private not-for-profit schools. These innovative schools consistently lead the way in online education and cater to the needs of local employment markets in ways that traditional schools do not. In other words, those that are successful must be punished so the government run schools don't look so bad. Simply more dumbing down of America.