CECU Daily Update Email

Education Politics and Policy
Feds' New Methodology for Borrower Defense – Inside Higher Ed
Betsy DeVos, the U.S. secretary of education, on Tuesday announced a new methodology for the Education Department to cancel loan debt balances held by defrauded students.
 
Betsy DeVos Overruled Education Dept. Findings On Defrauded Student Borrowers – NPR
Documents obtained by NPR shed new light on a bitter fight between defrauded student borrowers and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
 
Secretary DeVos Proposes Expanded Access to TEACH Grants, Religious Liberty Protections for Faith-Based Institutions
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed a new rule, open for public comment today, that would expand access to Teacher Education Assistance for College Higher Education (TEACH) Grants and ensure religious liberty is protected for faith-based higher education institutions and their student.
 
FULL COMMITTEE HEARING: “Examining the Education Department’s Implementation of Borrower Defense.”
Date: Thursday, December 12, 2019; Witnesses: The Honorable Betsy DeVos 

​Legal and Regulatory Issues
Secretary DeVos Approves New Methodology for Providing Student Loan Relief to Borrower Defense Applicants – U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the Department has implemented a new methodology for assessing borrower defense to repayment (BDR) claims, many of which were left behind by the previous administration. The new methodology relies on publicly available earnings data and a scientifically robust statistical methodology to determine harm.
 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: TEACH Grants and Faith-Based Entities – U.S. Department of Education
The Department of Education (Department) proposes revising the current regulations regarding the eligibility of faith-based entities to participate in the Federal Student Aid programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), and the eligibility of students to obtain certain benefits under those programs. The Secretary is also proposing to simplify the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program requirements to minimize the number of TEACH Grants that are converted to Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and to update, strengthen, and clarify other areas of the TEACH Grant Program regulations. A summary of the proposed rule is available here.
  

​Accreditation News
Ed Dept flags compliance issues with troubled accreditor ACICS – Education Dive
In a letter released this week, the Education Department flagged potential “compliance concerns” with the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), a troubled accreditor that has previously come under fire for its allegedly shoddy operations. 

Member Spotlight
Innovation in Education and Health Care for the Next Generation of Nurses
On November 18, 2019, Unitek College hosted their annual conference at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Newark, California. The theme of the conference was “Innovation in Education and Health Care.”
 
Herzing College Absorbs the Pre-apprenticeship Training (PAT) Institute
Herzing College has officially absorbed the Pre-apprenticeship Training (PAT) Institute, a trades school with campuses in Toronto and Cambridge, Ontario. Herzing acquired PAT in 2014, and since then, has slowly been integrating the Institute into the Herzing brand. 

Veterans for Career Education (VCE)
(Video) After leaving the military, U.S. Army Veteran, Edgar Salinas, realized that a traditional 4-year college was not the best option for him. Salinas found the direction and familiarity he was looking for at Apex Technical School.
 
Click here to watch the interview.
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​Education News
Online Enrollments Grow, but Pace Slows – Inside Higher Ed
New federal data show that more than a third of all 2018 college and university students took at least one online course, and that online enrollments continue steady growth as overall numbers dip.
 
Trump Targets Anti-Semitism and Israeli Boycotts on College Campuses – The New York Times
The president’s order would allow the government to withhold money from campuses deemed to be biased, but critics see it as an attack on free speech. 

​Legal
FTC Obtains Record $191 Million Settlement from University of Phoenix to Resolve FTC Charges It Used Deceptive Advertising to Attract Prospective Students – FTC
Under the settlement unanimously approved by the Commission, UOP will pay $50 million in cash as well as cancel $141 million in debts owed to the school by students who were harmed by the deceptive ads.
 
FTC reaches $191 million settlement with University of Phoenix in deceptive-advertising probe – The Washington Post
The for-profit behemoth University of Phoenix will cancel millions of dollars in debt owed by students and pay restitution to resolve allegations of deceptive advertising, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.
 
Additional Coverage on U of Phoenix Settlement with FTC
FTC and Phoenix Settle Over Ad Probe – Inside Higher Ed; U of Phoenix reaches $191M settlement in marketing lawsuit – Education Dive; University of Phoenix Agrees to Pay $50M and Cancel $141M in Student Debt Over False Ad Claims – Fortune. 

​Career Education Convention
hosted by CECU & FAPSC
June 7-10 | Orlando, FL | www.career.org/convention
 
This year CECU will be partnering with FAPSC, the Florida state association. The CECU Annual Convention and FAPSC Annual Conference have joined forces to maximize the conference experience for all attendees!
 
Important Dates:
Dec 16 - Booth registration open to the public (reg. link will be posted here)
Feb 3 - Attendee registration opens
Feb 3 - Call for Sessions opens