Department of Education Continues Stripping Student Protections in Favor of Predatory Colleges

Earlier today, the Department of Education released a proposal to repeal the  gainful employment rule. In the past, this rule ensured that college students in public and for-profit career education programs were able to find quality jobs after they graduate. However, today’s decision eliminates every accountability measure in the rule that previously held colleges responsible for their programs’ employment outcomes and debt burdens, to the detriment of students who will continue to be aggressively recruited into expensive and low quality programs like those run by Corinthian, ITT Tech, and other predatory for-profit schools.

In response to today’s rule, Reid Setzer, Government Affairs Director for Young Invincibles, released the following statement:

“It’s been clear from day one that the Department of Education under Secretary DeVos favors predatory for-profit colleges over the students they’re supposed to serve, but this proposed repeal is the most blatant example of all. With several schools already closed due to deliberate misrepresentations and outright fraud, this rule helped ensure that students were using their limited federal financial aid on quality, affordable career education programs. Instead, Secretary DeVos and the Trump Administration have gutted it, empowering the schools who already take advantage of far too many students, especially low-income students and student veterans.

The elimination of the accountability provisions in the rule will hurt everybody that isn’t a predatory, for-profit school: students, families, taxpayers, and responsible non-profit and for-profit schools. In fact, the Trump Administration’s own estimates show that eliminating the rule will cost nearly $5 billion over the next decade because deceptive and poor-performing programs will continue to receive students’ financial aid. The public needs to make sure Secretary DeVos knows she works for students and families, not predatory schools that saddle students with tens of thousands of dollars in debt for a degree that won’t even get them a job in their field.”