CECU Statement on Release of Defense to Repayment Regulation

​28 October 2016 - Washington, DC - The below statement can be attributed to Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of CECU:

“The regulation published today by the U.S. Department of Education will cause millions of students to lose access to higher education and leave American taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars.
 
“The Department can continue to mislead taxpayers and Congress about the impact of this regulation, but the truth is this regulation puts the future of career education in America at risk. This regulation will limit career education opportunities for new traditional students and ultimately deny millions of Americans a pathway to improving their life and growing the American economy.
 
“This complex and burdensome regulation will crush career education with financial requirements not imposed on others in higher education – including institutions that have lower graduation rates and higher default rates.
 
“All of this is being enacted in the final days of the Administration – a last ditch ideological effort that will have a lasting impact on students, educators, and taxpayers. For eight years the Department could have worked cooperatively with the Congress and higher education stakeholders to advance meaningful reauthorization of Higher Education Act. Instead they opted to promulgate regulation after regulation limiting higher education access, opportunity, and outcomes for new traditional students.
 
“We are in the process of evaluating the regulation and determining its impact on students and institutions – once that is complete we will determine our appropriate action.”