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Arlington, VA – Today, the U.S. Department of Education released its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on gainful employment. “CECU is disappointed that the Department did not take into account stakeholder feedback and failed to implement substantive changes to its gainful employment proposal, which continues to exempt the majority of postsecondary education programs and fails to protect millions of students,” said CECU’s President and CEO Jason Altmire. “The rule unfairly targets programs at proprietary institutions and fails to account for the unique challenges facing students and communities that career-oriented programs serve. During the public comment phase, we urge the Department to consider sensible changes that improve the rule to protect all students and hold public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions equally accountable for their outcomes.” Background: It would be incorrect to report that the Department lacks the authority to apply meaningful accountability measures to schools beyond programs that lead to gainful employment in a recognized occupation. As consumer advocates have pointed out, Section 454(a)(4) of the Higher Education Act allows the Department to propose and adopt outcomes-based accountability measures across all schools and all sectors to ensure a system of quality assurance. ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Please direct media inquiries to Jenny Faubert, Vice President of Communications, at Jenny.Faubert@career.org. Arlington, VA – As Congress continues to debate various proposals to expand the Pell Grant to short-term programs, 16 Democratic House members today sent a letter to House leaders asking that students attending proprietary institutions be fully eligible for any short-term Pell Grant. “We are grateful to these 16 members of Congress for their leadership in ensuring that all students have access to Pell Grants for high-quality, short-term programs at whichever institution best suits their educational needs and life circumstances,” said CECU's President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “We agree that all students, regardless of the type of institution they attend, should have equal access to financial aid programs that can help them achieve their career goals.” The 16 signatories include:
### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Please direct media inquiries to Jenny Faubert, Vice President of Communications, at Jenny.Faubert@career.org. Arlington, VA – Today, Federal Student Aid’s Office of Enforcement announced it has added the use of “secret shoppers” to monitor and investigate misrepresentation and fraud in Title IV eligible higher education marketing, recruitment, enrollment, and other practices. “We support reasonable practices that hold all institutions accountable for misrepresentations that financially harm students and taxpayers; however, the federal government has a track record of using secret shopper investigations to malign politically unfavored institutions with distorted findings that later result in the need for public correction,” said Nicholas Kent, CECU’s chief policy officer. “Given the current administration’s animus toward for-profit institutions, we are concerned this self-proclaimed ‘tool’ will be used as a weapon to inflict further damage upon private career schools and limit student choice.” ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Please direct media inquiries to Jenny Faubert, Vice President of Communications, at Jenny.Faubert@career.org. February 28, 2023 Arlington, VA – Today, a complaint was filed in a Texas federal court challenging the U.S. Department of Education (Department)’s recently promulgated borrower defense to repayment rule (BDR Rule). CECU regional partner Career Colleges & Schools of Texas (CCST) initiated the lawsuit in an effort to set aside the unlawful BDR Rule on the grounds that it violates the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, which sets out the process and procedures that federal agencies must follow in making and enforcing rules and regulations. CECU supports this effort and is proud of CCST’s leadership in bringing this critical legal challenge to fight for the future of career education students and schools, which are essential to meeting the needs of our country’s healthcare, infrastructure, and other skilled trade industries. CECU has previously and repeatedly stated that a legal challenge, like the one now brought by CCST, could be necessary if the Department refused to withdraw and replace the deficient BDR Rule, which is currently set to take effect on July 1, 2023. Over the past several months, CECU has spearheaded a multi-pronged campaign to raise awareness about the devastating impact of the BDR Rule and advocate for its withdrawal. We have long supported carefully considered and thoughtful Department rules and policies that promote (as well as protect) the interests of both students and schools alike. This BDR Rule, however, fails in each respect. CECU is confident that the Texas court will reach the correct legal determination and set aside the newly promulgated BDR Rule, which threatens to irreparably harm the American higher education system and deny generations of students access to career education. Students who are harmed by unlawful actions should be protected, but the Department must also be bound by the law, and act properly within its authority. “The Department’s newly promulgated rule suffers from fatal due process deficiencies and threatens crippling liability for schools across the country,” said CECU president and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “CECU has led the sector’s response to these unlawful regulations because they irrationally expand the potential acts and omissions of schools that give rise to a borrower defense to loan repayment, while eliminating the procedural protections necessary to protect schools against erroneous loan discharges and presumptions of liability.” The complaint is available here. ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Please direct media inquiries to Jenny Faubert, Vice President of Communications, at Jenny.Faubert@career.org. Arlington, VA – Today, Career Education Colleges and Universities submitted our comment letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Request for Information Regarding Public Transparency for Low-Financial-Value Postsecondary Programs. “We applaud the Department for opening up the process and giving all stakeholders the opportunity to provide comments on ways to identify low-financial-value postsecondary programs,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “Our hope is that the Department will seriously consider our constructive and thoughtful comments to ensure that prospective students, their families, and taxpayers have access to meaningful, accurate information on all sectors of higher education.” Background On January 11, 2023, the Biden administration announced its intent to publish a watch list of “low-financial-value postsecondary programs” and solicited public feedback on the best ways to identify and publicize these programs to promote greater transparency and accountability in higher education. According to the announcement, the Department is concerned there are too many low-financial-value postsecondary programs, defined in the notice as those in which the “total costs exceed the financial benefits provided to students.” ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Arlington, VA – The following is CECU’s statement regarding Public Agenda's report on student experiences at for-profit colleges. “This dishonest report has skewed the data to arrive at a preferred conclusion. As one example, comparing an entire group consisting of for-profit alumni, current students, and non-completing students to a subgroup consisting only of current community college students is unfair and blatantly biased. Another defect of the methodology is grouping together all types of for-profit institutions — four-year, two-year, and less than two-year — in comparison to two-year community colleges,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “This report was conducted with either flawed methodology or with a purposeful intent to achieve an ideologically driven outcome. Either way, the report is simply not credible. We would welcome a more accurate and statistically valid comparison of institutions in order to engage in a meaningful conversation on how to improve the value of postsecondary education for all students.” ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Please direct media inquiries to Jenny Faubert, Vice President of Communications, at Jenny.Faubert@career.org. Arlington, VA – Today, Reps. Stefanik, Foxx, Banks, Hinson, and Thompson introduced the Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act. The PELL Act would amend the Higher Education Act making certain short-term workforce programs eligible for the Federal Pell Grant. “This legislation creates new opportunities for students who are in financial need while expanding the pipeline of the high-demand jobs so desperately needed in the American workforce. In expanding financial aid eligibility to shorter-term programs, this bill allows students to choose the school and program that best suits their needs and fits their life circumstances,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “Rather than the government limiting students to schools based upon the institution’s tax status, this bill creates metrics to ensure that all participating schools offer high-quality, in-demand programs. We are grateful for the leadership of Chairwoman Foxx and Rep. Stefanik in introducing this important legislation, and we look forward to working with the committee as the bill advances through the process.” ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. Please direct media inquiries to Jenny Faubert, Vice President of Communications, at Jenny.Faubert@career.org. |
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