“Today’s action … is the strongest action ever taken by an administration to hold low-quality programs accountable,” says Carolyn Fast, the director of higher education at The Century Foundation. Fast was also involved in the rulemaking. “It steers students toward high-value programs and holds institutions accountable for what it is they should be doing: offering students quality education and preparing them for stable future careers.”
Data from the Education Department anticipates that about 1,700 programs will fail (PDF) to meet the thresholds set forth in the rule. While many public and private nonprofit colleges offer non-degree programs, very few would fail, according to the department. Rather, many of the failed programs would be at for-profit schools.
The rule applies to all for-profit programs but doesn’t include bachelor’s degrees and most graduate programs at traditional public and nonprofit colleges. Critics of the rule say that’s unfair.
“Once again, the Department has rushed the process, overlooking critical issues, to hastily implement and weaponize a final Gainful Employment rule against for-profit institutions,” said Jason Altmire, president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, a national organization that represents for-profit colleges.
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