CECU’s Statement on the Department of Education’s Intention to Create a List of “Low-Value” Schools

​Arlington, VA – Today the U.S. Department of Education released a notice requesting information regarding public transparency for low-financial-value postsecondary programs for public inspection in the Federal Register.

“The Department has a well-established bias against for-profit institutions and a zeal for weaponizing the tools at its disposal to make it more difficult for those schools to serve students. That said, we are encouraged by this solicitation," said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire.

"The Under Secretary has made a genuine attempt to learn more and solicit feedback from affected institutions. This has not always been the case, and we will be contributing our views in response to the notice. Rather than simply being a “name-and-shame” list, we hope the proposed list will provide information about all schools, not only for-profits, and that the data metrics used will not unfairly shield politically favored institutions from scrutiny. We also hope thoughtful consideration will be given to the fact that some programs produce workers in occupations that are valuable to society but do not earn a lot of money after graduation; characterizing these programs as ‘low-value’ could be harmful to our nation’s workforce.

"Overall, the Department’s solicitation is a positive sign that perhaps the Biden administration’s policy deliberations will be informed more by facts and data than by political ideology. The proof is in the pudding, but this is a step in the right direction."

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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.​​