Gainful Employment: Discrimination 2010
The U.S. Department of Education's gainful employment regulations have been making
national headlines for several months. The regulations, set to go into effect in early 2011, will require colleges and universities, many of which are predominantly for-profit, to "prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation" or lose federal financial aid funding. The regulations were conceived by the U.S.D.E in an attempt to create a clear financial picture for students. More specifically, the gainful employment regulations, when implemented, aim to more adequately educate students about the financials of their degree programs.
The regulation will "apply a formula to programs in career-oriented majors, like healthcare, business and education to decide which ones lead to gainful employment" or employment that provides graduates with the income they need to successfully repay their education debts. Programs that don't lead to gainful employment will be eliminated. Other parts of the regulations include: concrete information for students about graduation rates, employment rates, potential salary and past loan-repayment rates.
Gainful employment, at its surface, appears to be a good idea. And, accountability and oversight, the proposed results of the regulations are also good ideas. But, when we peer below the surface, we see that the theoretical benefits of gainful employment are outweighed by the enormous harm these regulations will ultimately do to for-profit online schools and career colleges across the nation. As it is envisioned now, the gainful employment regulations will only apply to for-profit education institutions and a minute percentage of students in non-degree programs at ground schools.
So, why are for-profits at the forefront of these regulations and why are non-profits largely uninvolved? It's no secret that some for-profit colleges have recently been at the center of controversy due to questionable recruiting tactics, exceedingly low student-loan repayment rates and poor job placement statistics. However, the controversy has centered on a handful of for-profit schools and is no way indicative of the larger for-profit education sector. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan agrees and has called online schools and career colleges a "vital part" of the higher education sector. Duncan, however, has labeled the handful of "bad actors" as detrimental to the overall success that for-profit online colleges and career schools have had. Most would agree, including many of the scrutinized for-profit administrators, that the often fraudulent recruiting tactics and non-transparency that have been namesakes of some for-profit schools, is wrong. While wrongdoings on the part of some for-profits can't be debated, the implementation of gainful employment regulations in the for-profit sector can, will, and should.
What gainful employment will do, once implemented, is limit access to education, especially among under-represented and non-traditional students. The for-profit education sector, one of the fastest growing and most popular throughout higher education, caters to non-traditional (working parents, first generation college-goers), minority and low-income students. Where public and private universities have failed, for-profit education has succeeded by offering flexible courses, 24/7 access and enhanced accessibility. Further, "traditional" students are now enrolling in for-profit programs in droves due to the number of benefits these degree programs offers and compared to what their non-profit counterparts do not. Once implemented, gainful employment will only aid in doing a tremendous disservice to qualified and able students who choose these programs because of their "consumer-responsive schedules and courses." Gainful employment will disproportionately affect and "shut out" students, both traditional and non-traditional who have "the most to gain through their access to the programs offered by career colleges."
What's, perhaps, most striking about these regulations is the "progressive" administration they come from. While President Obama and his U.S.D.E. officials have passed a great deal of legislation benefiting education in their two-year tenure, critics of the gainful employment regulations have questioned the motives behind the new rules. Additionally, on the heels of President Obama's call for more graduates nationwide by 2012, it seems bizarre, at best, that one of the nation's leading producers of college graduates (for-profit colleges) would be curtailed and so harshly regulated.
Voicing some of the harshest criticism has been the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an organization which helps represent national businesses and retain and create our jobs. Chamber President Thomas Donohue recently wrote that "this ill-conceived regulation will work against job creation, only resulting in jobs lost and fewer Americans getting the post-secondary education and training they need to secure work in today's economy." President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Harry C. Alford, reiterated Donohue's statement saying "student debt is a national problem, one that must be addressed, but imposing regulations on schools that are effectively educating students is unnecessary."
What has critics most "up-in-arms," is the blatant disparities and unequal playing field which these new regulations have helped to proliferate in the higher education sector even more. In a nation where benefits and opportunities are still not always equal, education, of all things, should be and for the most part, is.
Fraudulent recruiting practices, poor job placement and high loan default rates shouldn't be acceptable practices at any college or university in the higher education sector, regardless of for-or non-profit standing. And, improper actions on the part of a handful of schools shouldn't be allowed to determine whether qualified, capable and deserving students have the chance to earn their college degree. Allcolleges and universities, collectively, should be tasked with ensuring that they are offering their student's not only a quality education, but also a quality degree. Students of all colors, classes, ages and backgrounds should be able to receive an education and gain the knowledge and experience necessary to enter an increasingly learned workforce.
by: Emily Sismour
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