Sun-Times: Feds shouldn't punish career colleges

In the 1980s, the Chicago Sun-Times ran a series about the abuses of for-profit schools. Since then, several reforms have been imposed that improve the educational, and yes, financial situation of their students.

President Obama chose Arne Duncan to be his secretary of education. Prior to that, he was the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools. Obama wasn't impressed by those schools, he sent his daughters to private institutions. Duncan, with the support of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), want to impose tough restrictions on career colleges that won't apply to not-for profit schools.

And a Chicago newspaper doesn't think it's a good idea.

From a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed:

The proposal drawing the most criticism is the so-called “gainful employment” rule, which is designed to ensure that graduates spend no more than 8 percent of their average income on loan repayment in their first three years after graduating. It also would deny federal aid to any school in which fewer than 35 percent of the graduates failed to repay their loans.

The Education Department estimates that only 5 percent of all for-profit post-secondary schools would lose all federal aid under the reforms. But the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities — which includes only accredited schools — says 30 percent of its schools’ programs cannot meet the new standards. In fact, the association says, even some of the best programs at traditional universities could not do so. The association has proposed alternatives.

The federal government is right to step in. For-profit schools typically cater to a fragile group of young people who, enchanted by the prospect of a real career path after other doors have been closed, may not see that they are being detoured in the wrong direction.

On the other hand, the best professional schools offer a real and substantial opportunity for many folks who might otherwise believe they’ve reached a dead end. The legitimate schools deserve some leeway, given that many of their students were not exactly headed to success before a TV ad encouraged them to get off the couch and make something of themselves.

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