For-profit crackdown brings criticism to ED headquarters

Duncan said for-profit schools are a key to meeting President Obama's educational goals.

Opponents of the U.S. Education Department’s (ED) proposed “gainful employment” rules said the regulations unfairly target for-profit colleges, and at least one career college advocate said at a Nov. 5 public hearing that the department should scrap its plan entirely.

ED officials listened to testimony for and against the proposed rule last week at the department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., where most speakers suggested tweaking certain statutes – with at least one political ally of the Obama administration suggesting that the regulations would put higher education out of reach for many low-income and minority students.

About 10 percent of U.S. college students attend for-profit institutions, some of the largest online education programs in the country.…Read More