CECU Statement on the Release of Gainful Employment Rates

January 9, 2017 – Washington, DC – Following the U.S. Department of Education’s release of gainful employment rates, CECU president and CEO Steve Gunderson released the following statement

“The Department’s action today is disappointing and disrespectful. While the Department has every right to share debt-to-earnings rates with schools, the Department should provide every school with the 14 days to file a notice of appeal, the 60 days to file the appeal, and the appropriate time for the Department to review such evidence and rule on the appeal before any public disclosure is made.

“The Department’s decision to publish a list of schools failing their initial calculations before the process is complete makes clear this is all about political motivations and harming institutions, and has nothing to do with expanding higher education access and opportunity or creating sound public policy. We had hoped this Department would comply with the timelines and procedures it had established.  Unfortunately we should not have expected even this minimum level of decency from them.
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“Despite the Department’s attempts to obscure the truth, the fact remains: students that attend career education colleges and universities graduate at three times the rate of their peers attending 2-year public institutions and default at lower rates. It is time to stop the war. Community colleges and career colleges each have an appropriate and important role in serving our postsecondary students.”