President Biden’s Hypocrisy on For-Profit Colleges Is Unacceptable
Committee on Education & Labor
February 17, 2022
President Biden’s predatory policies targeting career-focused institutions harm low-income, minority, and other disadvantaged students seeking to improve their career pathways and move up the economic ladder. Holding proprietary institutions to a different standard and ignoring the failures of traditional colleges and universities who enroll 95 percent of students is hypocritical. It’s time for Democrats to recognize the contributions of these institutions and how they are developing the next generation of America’s workforce.
This week, the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking committee will meet to discuss sweeping changes to the 90/10 rule governing the share of revenue that career colleges can receive from the federal government. According to reports, the committee is likely to recommend broadening the scope of “federal funds” under 90/10 to make it more difficult for career colleges to meet the standard and remain certified. If the Department enacts these changes, hundreds of schools may be forced to shut their doors, leaving thousands of students who attend these schools scrambling.
Shuttering so-called “for-profit” schools has long been a dream of some ideologues, but that path represents a dereliction of duty for the Department of Education (DoE). The agency exists to ensure that all Americans have access to a quality education. This mission demands a system that provides a diverse array of options for learners of all types with the understanding that American students have different education needs, expectations, and abilities.