CECU’s Statement on the Department of Education’s Intention to Create a List of “Low-Value” Schools1/10/2023
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." ### 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, Judge William Alsup in the Northern District of California approved the borrower defense class settlement in Sweet v. Cardona. “The four intervenor schools made a compelling case that the Sweet settlement represents an unlawful overreach by the Department of Education and unfairly maligns over 150 institutions without any opportunity to respond. We are disappointed that Judge Alsup overlooked these defects and approved the settlement,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “We expect that the Ninth Circuit on appeal will recognize these fatal flaws and send the parties back to the negotiating table." ### 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, Judge William Alsup in the Northern District of California held a final approval hearing on the proposed class settlement in Sweet v. Cardona, a long-running case brought by former students against the U.S. Department of Education over delays in the processing of borrower defense to repayment applications. Under the settlement, the Department has agreed to forgive and/or repay an estimated $6 billion in student loan debt including “automatic” relief for students who attended certain proprietary schools listed in an exhibit to the settlement. Four of the listed schools have intervened and opposed final approval, arguing that the settlement unfairly circumvents their procedural rights and harms their reputations without due process and that the settlement exceeds the Department’s legal authority to compromise the plaintiff’s claims, which were based solely on procedural delay. After over 90 minutes of oral presentations from counsel, the Court stated it needs more time to "study" the case and would issue a written decision within the next week. “The four intervenor schools made a compelling case today that the Sweet settlement represents an unlawful overreach by the U.S. Department of Education and unfairly maligns more than 150 institutions based on mere allegations without any opportunity to respond,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “We are glad to see that Judge Alsup is taking a deliberate approach to these serious issues and has not simply rubber-stamped the settlement. We hope that this will lead to a resolution of the case that is fair for all of the parties involved.” ### 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, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released its final rule for borrower defense to repayment (BDR Rule), closed school loan discharges, pre-dispute arbitration and class action waiver agreements, and other issues previously included in the July 13, 2022, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. As it currently stands, the final rule will take effect on July 1, 2023. Background In response to the July 13, 2022, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, more than 5,000 comments were submitted, many of which include substantive legal arguments about the deficiencies in the Department’s rule and the resulting threat of harm to schools and students. Indeed, CECU alone submitted a 137-page comment, which included a detailed legal analysis of the many ways in which the rule violates the law by, among other things, depriving schools of essential due process protections. Given the abbreviated 41-day window between the comment submission deadline and when the Department submitted the final rule for interagency review, the Department could not have meaningfully considered thousands of comment submissions. CECU Statement “The Department has cut corners in a rush to ram through a punitive borrower defense rule with serious legal and regulatory flaws that could undermine the American education system,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “This is yet another example of the Department’s willingness to disregard established process to pursue a partisan borrower defense agenda that is contrary to the best interests of schools and students. CECU has long supported sensible borrower defense regulations that comply with the law and protect the interests of both students and schools. The new rule fails on both counts.” ### 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, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued new final regulations on the 90/10 rule – an accountability metric applied only to proprietary institutions. “The 90/10 rule set by Congress is an ineffective measure of quality that focuses on a student’s ability to pay rather than willingness to pay. Although we disagree with this flawed metric, we commend the Department for publishing final regulations that conform in substance to the language approved by negotiators earlier this year, despite some modification to the language dealing with how revenue from income share agreements is treated,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “We look forward to engaging with the Department to assist institutions in better understanding their legal and regulatory obligations and to ensure a smooth, efficient implementation of the changes.” ### 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. Career Education Colleges and Universities, the national association representing the proprietary sector of higher education, is pleased to announce its acceptance into the influential Washington Higher Education Secretariat (Secretariat). The Secretariat is coordinated by the Office of the President of the American Council on Education and, at present, is comprised of 58 national higher education associations representing different sectors and functions in postsecondary education.
Established in 1962, the primary purpose of the Secretariat is to provide a forum for association chief executives to consider and respond to issues and trends confronting postsecondary education. Additionally, the Secretariat also studies specific issues through working groups and provides opportunities for collaboration and networking amongst its member associations. Joining the Secretariat is an initiative CECU integrated into its multi-year strategic plan in order to enhance our government relations and policy efforts and further strengthen relations in the higher education community. As a member of the Secretariat, CECU’s inclusion and engagement will add to the diversity of thought and ideas when considering issues impacting private career education. “I look forward to working with my Secretariat colleagues to confront existing and future challenges impacting postsecondary education,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “Together, we can foster a more inclusive and diverse higher education community that better serves students and taxpayers.” Membership to the Secretariat is based on application and by a vote of current members. American and Canadian career college associations strengthen cross-border collaboration, expanding offerings and membership benefits. Arlington, VA and Ottawa, Ontario – Today, Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU), the U.S. association representing America’s private postsecondary career schools, joined its Canadian counterpart, the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC), in announcing a working alliance between the two organizations. The alliance will result in a closer relationship between the two, increasing the benefits available to members of both associations. The two associations will work together on issues important to schools across North America, such as curriculum alignment, employer partnerships, accreditation recognition, and the development of outcome standards. CECU’s popular multimedia platforms, such as its podcast and Career Education Review magazine, will also feature more international content of interest to NACC’s Canadian members. In 2023, both CECU and NACC will host joint events including the North American Career Education Convention to be held in Kansas City, MO, in June 2023 and the CEO Summit in Montreal, Quebec, in November 2023. Plenary speakers and breakout sessions will be designed to appeal to attendees from both countries, and time will be built into the sessions to allow for collaboration and networking between the groups. All CECU and NACC members will now have access to world-class training events and quality professional development offerings, including:
Michael Sangster, CEO of NACC, expressed strong support for the affiliation. “By aligning together on issues to support workforce development where we have a common interest, we are capitalizing on economies of scale, embracing new ideas and increasing the benefits available to members,” he said. “The real value in this partnership is the investment in professional development for the thousands of instructors who deliver the world-class training programs offered at regulated career colleges. We see a great deal of opportunity to grow together in the years ahead.” CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire, believes the alliance will be a benefit to members of both organizations. “CECU is excited to move forward with this partnership with NACC,” he said. “By increasing the professional development and meeting opportunities for members, we will increase the value proposition of membership. It is a win-win for members and the associations.” ### About Career Education Colleges and Universities
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector. About National Association of Career Colleges National Association of Career Colleges (NACC) is a national association representing 450 regulated career colleges from across the country. Media Contacts: United States Jenny Faubert VP of Communications, CECU Email: Jenny.Faubert@career.org Canada Victoria Ventura Communications and Stakeholder Manager, NACC Email: vventura@nacc.ca |
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