Changes, Some Big, for Colleges

This bit of news could influence many colleges and programs:

The U.S. Department of Education intends to crack down on postsecondary career programs that can’t demonstrate that enough graduates have found “gainful employment,” a move some for-profit colleges say could cost thousands of students the opportunity for a better future.

Amid much controversy, the feds last year set new regulations for career training programs at public, nonprofit and for-profit institutions. In order to qualify for access to federal student aid, the programs must meet the new “gainful employment” requirements, which are designed to ensure graduates are in a position to earn enough money to pay back what they owe.

The career programs will be required to meet federal standards on three metrics: At least 35 percent of former students must be repaying their loans; the estimated annual loan payment must not exceed 12 percent of a typical graduate’s total earnings; and the estimated annual loan payment must not exceed 30 percent of the individual’s discretionary income.

For the first-round of evaluations, the feds looked at 3,695 programs in 1,336 schools, representing 43 percent of students in career training programs. Of those, 5 percent — 193 programs at 93 individual schools — fell short on all three metrics. Just 35 percent of the programs satisfied all of the regulation requirements.

“Career colleges have a responsibility to prepare people for jobs at a price they can afford,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. “Schools that cannot meet these very reasonable standards are on notice: Invest in your students’ success, or taxpayers can no longer invest in you.”

Inside Higher Ed has a concise breakdown of the feds’ list of campuses that fell short in all three areas. Among them are cosmetology academies, culinary schools, art colleges, and programs preparing students for careers in technology or health-related fields.