CECU Calls for Process that Leads to a Clear, Concise Regulation – CECU: Career Education

November 21, 2017 – Arlington, Va. – Today, Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, submitted a letter to the Department of Education in support of the department’s proposed further delay of the borrower defense rule as published on October 24, 2017.  In the letter, Gunderson encouraged the department to delay the rule until 2019.

“We best serve students, schools and the American taxpayers when we create a process that is clear, clean and concise,” Gunderson said. “We commend Secretary DeVos for delaying the rule and undertaking a new rulemaking process to develop a better set of regulations that promise to create a system that is clearer, fairer and strikes a balance between efficiency and predictability.”

In October, the Department of Education issued a notice in the Federal Register to delay the effective date of the Borrower Defense regulations until July 1, 2018. This notice goes beyond the partial delay issued by the Department on June 16, 2017. The Department also proposed to further delay the regulations until July 1, 2019. This proposal is currently open for public comments.

Gunderson explained that further delaying the rule is critical to protecting students from the confusion that would result if the published rule were implemented in the current environment.  “Further delaying the 2016 rule will mitigate the uncertainty about the potential impact of the regulations, reduce the regulatory burden on institutions, and maintain an easily understood process by which students may still seek redress under the current state-based standard,” said Gunderson.

CECU submitted formal comments to the Department of Education in September addressing 22 specific regulations in need of review and reform. The report was produced to identify rules and requirements that place undue burdens on students, families and institutions of higher education. In July, Gunderson delivered testimony at a Department of Education public hearing in Dallas, Texas ahead of negotiated rulemaking sessions on gainful employment and borrower defense to repayment.

To speak with Mr. Gunderson please contact Clay Sutton at clay.sutton@career.org.

About Career Education Colleges & Universities
The Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is a voluntary membership organization of accredited, postsecondary schools, institutes, colleges and universities that provide career-specific educational programs. CECU has about 500 member campuses that educate and support millions of students for employment in over 200 occupational fields. CECU member institutions provide the full range of higher education programs, including masters and doctorate degrees, two- and four-year associate and baccalaureate degree programs, and short-term certificate and diploma programs.