Quantcast
Channel: Class Notes » For-profits
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

For-profits’ frenzied lobbying

0
0

For-profit colleges and universities have gone into lobbying overdrive in the past few weeks to stop the U.S. Department of Education from enacting a rule that would threaten their chief source of profit — federal financial aid dollars.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, for-profits “increased spending by nearly a quarter, to $1.4 million, from the first to the second quarters of 2010 alone. Some of the largest increases came from companies that could suffer the most under the rule, including the Career Education Corp., Corinthian Colleges, Education Management Corp. and Kaplan Inc.”

The new rule, referred to as “gainful employment,” aims to make sure students are not borrowing too much money to train for low-paying jobs that won’t allow them to pay down the loans.

A recent analysis of loan-repayment rates showed that many programs could become ineligible for federal aid under the rule.

“Student aid is the lifeblood of many for-profit colleges, accounting for an average of 77 percent of revenue at the five largest companies, according to an analysis by the Senate education committee. Without access to federal dollars, many programs would be forced to shut down,” the Chronicle reported.

For-profits and their advocates have flooded the department with thousands of letters during a comment period that ends Thursday, and top college executives have made personal visits to Capitol Hill.

According to the New York Times, executives have also “provided employees with ‘personalized’ letters to send to Washington and urged students to speak out against the proposals.”

“Last week, John Sperling, the founder of the nation’s largest for-profit college, the University of Phoenix, e-mailed every member of Congress, seeking help opposing the regulations, and attached a sample letter to be sent to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, asking him to withdraw them,” the Times reported.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images