August 10, 2018 - Following the release of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposal to expand the College Scorecard to include outcomes data on programs in higher education, Steve Gunderson, President and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, released the below statement:

“This proposal represents the most significant action by any U.S. Department of Education to provide complete transparency on the outcomes of today’s higher education programs. By making available, in a student friendly and transparent manner, key data points on debt, loan repayment, completion, and earnings of graduates, the Department will empower prospective students with the information needed to select their preferred academic and career preparation pathway.

Steve Gunderson, President & CEO of Career Education Colleges & Universities, issued the following statement:

On behalf of the nation’s 2,700 postsecondary career colleges and universities we are deeply disappointed that the Democrat proposal continues the ideological war against our sector using old issues, and old data as the basis for their proposal.  Today’s sector is not defined by Corinthian and ITT, and public policy should not be defined by the past.

Recognizing the call for outcomes and accountability, today’s postsecondary career education sector has better completion rates, and far better placement rates than those sectors of higher education awarded in the Democrat proposal.  Our two-year and less schools, which comprise over three quarters of the institutions in this sector, have graduation rates more than two times better than the 2-year public sector schools.  When one combines instruction and student service expenditures, we make a larger financial commitment to the total success of our students than any other sector.

During the earlier discussions on Gainful Employment and Borrower Defense, most Democrats told us they support one set of rules for all schools but the current statutes did not allow them to create a rule that did so.  Yet, the Democrat proposal goes further than current law to create one set of provisions for traditional schools and another set of provisions for our sector. 

Finally, Democrats need to stop making veterans political pawns in the debate over public policy.  Veterans listen to veterans. And veterans enroll in our schools because they seek accelerated, focused academic programming leading to a career.  Veterans have earned their GI Benefits, and they should be allowed to use them at any institution of their choice. 

​This nation faces an important challenge today.  A healthy economy needs skilled workers.  We are committed to working with everyone engaged in preparing a new generation of skilled workers.  All we ask for is fairness.  Over 2,000 campuses have been closed since 2010 – most were part of the many large publicly-traded systems that no longer exist. Today’s career education schools reflect the multi-generation family-owned schools that have always served their communities well.

​Following the release of the proposed borrower defense to repayment rule for public comment, Steve Gunderson, President and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, released the following statement:
 
“After much stakeholder engagement, the rule carefully developed and put forth by the Department stands on two strong pillars: protection for all parties involved and respect for due process. There should be no doubt that this rule will help students who are victims of fraud find relief, and ensure colleges and universities are part of a fair and objective adjudication process.
 
“Since the concept of the rule was first proposed, our position has remained unchanged: any student at any institution who is a victim of fraud must be protected, and there must be a clear and uniform process for seeking and receiving relief. Earlier iterations of the rule did not respect the letter nor the intent of the law. Carte blanche approval of batches of applications would only serve to cutoff access and opportunity for future students. A deliberate and responsive process – as prescribed by this rule – ensures opportunity, access, and justified outcomes for students.
 
“The Department has undertaken a thoughtful and deliberate approach to this rule, and we applaud their hard work on this important matter. We hope that going forward all stakeholders in higher education will work together around the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. We need to advance public policy that can stand the test of time regardless of which party controls the government.
 
“This is a critical moment for higher education. Since the last reauthorization of HEA - the entire landscape and demand for postsecondary education has dramatically changed, yet the overarching federal law remains, for the most part, unchanged since 2008. It is time for Congress and the Administration to lead the way on comprehensive reauthorization that empowers all stakeholders to create an American workforce for the 21st Century.”

Steve Gunderson, President and CEO of Career Education Colleges & Universities, today applauded a judge’s ruling that President Obama's Department of Education failed "to consider various categories of relevant evidence” in reviewing ACICS.  “All we have ever asked for is due process and fairness,” he said. “This ruling makes clear the process used in revoking ACICS recognition was not complete and fair.  We now hope the current Secretary will recognize the need to work with ACICS, the schools impacted by this ruling to find a path that keeps students in school and on their way to achieving career skills.”

March 5, 2018 - Arlington, VA - The nation’s Post-secondary Career Colleges were again recognized for the quality of their graduates at this year’s Oscar Awards! The recognition follows similar achievement at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

This op-ed, written by Career Education Colleges and Universities President & CEO Steve Gunderson, was originally published on February 8,  2018 by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

When Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. was named president of Purdue University in 2013, I sent him an email saying, "Welcome to the revolution!" My email explained that higher education is changing in terms of whom we teach, what we teach, when we teach, and where we teach it. Last year, speaking on a panel at a higher-education symposium in my role as president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, I said that higher education had transformed itself, but I went on to suggest that the failure of the federal government to update its policies — especially the Higher Education Act — limited the ability of all educators to fully seize this moment.

The below story was shared with CECU by Nicole Hessabi who is a student at West Coast University. In March, Nicole will be attending CECU’s 2018 Hill Day in Washington, D.C. to share with lawmakers the positive impact that career education has had on her life.  

​​I was ten years old when I became a United States citizen. I stood there, fervently clutching onto my souvenir, a tiny American flag. I was overwhelmed with a sense of awe. I remember feeling both amazed and bewildered at the anticipation that was so palpable in the auditorium that day. Too young to understand the gravity of the moment and oblivious to the great difficulties millions have experienced in order to stand where I stood. I was instead consumed with
enormous excitement over the fact that on this day, my mother willfully allowed me to play hooky from my fifth-grade classroom.