Washington News Brief

By Sharon H. Bob, Ph.D., Higher Education Specialist, Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville, PC

Confirmation hearing of Betsy DeVos erupts into partisan debate

On Jan. 17, 2017, the confirmation hearing held by the Senate Health, Education, Loan and Pensions Committee (HELP) of Betsy DeVos erupted into a partisan debate. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chair of the HELP Committee opened the hearing by saying:

“Betsy DeVos is on our children’s side. She has dedicated her life to helping children, especially low-income children, have the opportunity to attend a good school. Most of the criticism of Mrs. DeVos has been focused on three things: Her support for more public charter schools; her advocacy for giving lower-income parents more choices; her use of her considerable wealth to advance effectively those two ideas. I believe Mrs. DeVos is in the mainstream of public opinion on the best way to help children succeed, and her critics are outside of it.”

Ranking Member Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said:

“I have major concerns with how you have spent your career fighting to privatize public education and gut investments in public schools.” Senator Murray also was concerned with Mrs. DeVos’ potential conflicts of interest, her reported views on the Office of Civil Rights, and a lack of clarity on DeVos’ positions on higher education.

Throughout the hearing, the Republicans applauded Mrs. DeVos’ work to expand charter schools and school vouchers, and Democrats criticized her for wanting to privatize public education.

While the majority of the hearing was focused on Mrs. DeVos’ views related to K-12 education, several senators asked her for more detail on her thoughts on higher education policies and issues, such as sexual assault, data transparency, tuition-free public college, regulatory burden, and the complexity of managing the federal student aid system. In Mrs. DeVos’ prepared remarks, she raised the issue of rising amounts of student debt and said: “Escalating tuition is pricing aspiring and talented students out of college. Others are burdened with debts that will take years – even decades – to pay off.”

Several Democrats questioned Mrs. DeVos as to whether she would uphold the Obama administration’s guidance on how colleges should handle allegations of sexual assault. She responded that there were “a lot of conflicting ideas” about how to enforce the rules under Title IX. Senator John Isakson (R-GA) asked about the congressionally mandated study on the negative effects of regulatory burden and whether she would use her existing authority to roll back any regulations that were administratively burdensome and unnecessary. Mrs. DeVos responded that she was committed to exploring the recommendations of the report and would work with Congress on other pieces that could be changed by legislation.

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) asked whether she would work with him and others to make public colleges and universities tuition-free and she responded that while it was an interesting idea, “nothing in life is truly free.” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked Mrs. DeVos about her knowledge of the Department of Education’s role in high education, including the oversight of the federal student loan program and the federal student aid system. Mrs. DeVos responded that she would “be very vigilant” about protecting taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse by colleges that receive federal student aid and would “ensure that federal monies are used properly and appropriately.”

On Jan. 24, 2017, Chairman Alexander spoke from the Senate floor and forcefully defended the nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education. He said that Democrats are “grasping at straws” with their attacks on her and are “desperately searching for a valid reason to oppose” her. Ranking Member Murray responded on the Senate floor by saying that she respects Senator Alexander, but she is “hopeful that he does not simply jam this nominee through without allowing us to do our jobs.”

Ohio Governor Kasich announced his support of Betsy DeVos to be the next Secretary of Education in a letter on Jan. 24, 2017 to Senator Alexander. Governor Kasich said: “She is well qualified to serve as education secretary and she has the compassion for children that this job demands.” With this letter of support, at least 19 Republican governors have supported Mrs. DeVos’ nomination. On the other hand, opposition to Betsy DeVos continues to grow as Democratic lawmakers report they have received thousands of calls, emails, and letters from constituents urging them to vote against Mrs. DeVos.

A copy of Governor Kasich’s letter is found at: http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/bb77f355-b088-4594-bb25-f012c899afd3/ohio-gov.-john-kasich-letter-to-senate-help-chairman-alexander-re-devos.pdf

The Committee vote is scheduled for Jan. 31, 2017.

White House freezes all pending federal regulations

On Jan. 20, 2017, Reince Priebus, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, released a Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on behalf of the President asking them to freeze all pending regulations until they can be reviewed by the new Administration. The Memorandum also stated that no regulations should be sent to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. Further, any regulations that were already sent to the Office of the Federal Register should be withdrawn for further review. With respect to regulations that have been published by the Office of the Federal Register, but have not taken effect, the effective date will be delayed by 60 days from the date of the Memorandum pending further review. When appropriate, heads of departments and agencies should propose delaying the effective date for regulations beyond the 60-day period.

The Memorandum is silent on its impact on those federal regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but go into effect after the initial 60-day period. For the Department of Education, these final regulations include teacher preparation program regulations, the borrower defense to repayment regulations, and the state authorization of distance education regulations.

A copy of the Memorandum is found at: https://www.cfpbmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2017/01/Preibus-memo.pdf

OMB issues memo to freeze hiring of federal workers

On Jan. 23, 2017, President Trump signed an executive memorandum to implement a hiring freeze of federal workers in an effort to cut government payrolls. On Jan. 25, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo which includes details as to the next steps, including how agencies should approach positions that they recently filled and whether those recently hired should report for work.

A copy of the OMB memo is found at: http://1yxsm73j7aop3quc9y5ifaw3.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/M-17-17-Immediate-Actions-and-Initial-Guidance-for-Federal-Civilian-Hir.pdf

Trump administration releases names of new staff at Department of Education

On Jan. 25, 2017, the Trump administration released the names of 18 individuals who have joined the Department of Education and will be responsible for managing the Department until the Secretary of Education is confirmed. The team includes Jason Botel, Executive Director of MarylandCAN, who is the new senior White House adviser for education and will work with Acting Education Secretary Phil Rosenfelt. The team includes Josh Venable, who is the top candidate for Chief of Staff; Jim Manning, who worked at the Department during the Bush and Obama Administrations and led the landing team at the Department during the transition; Stanley Bushesky, formerly a managing partner at The EdTech Fund, a venture capital firm, is responsible for budget and finance issues. Other members of the team include: Derrick Bolen, Debbie Cox-Roush, Kevin Eck, Holly Ham, Ron Holden, Amy Jones, Andrew Kossack, Cody J. Reynolds, Patrick Shaheen, Teresa UnRue, Eric Ventimiglia, Beatriz Ramos, Jerry Ward, and Patrick Young.

The Department also provided a list of career employees leading certain offices until the new appointees arrive: Joe Conaty, the Office of the Deputy Secretary; Sandra Battle, Office of Civil Rights; James Runcie, Federal Student Aid; Kim Ford, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; and Lynn Mahaffie, Office of Postsecondary Education and the Office of the Under Secretary.

House Committee on Education and the Workplace approves its rules and oversight packages

On Jan. 24, 2017, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) met with the new and continuing members of the House Committee on Education and the Workplace to approve its rules and oversight packages for the 115th Congress. In her opening remarks, Chairwoman Foxx welcomed her members and outlined her legislative agenda for the 115th Congress:

“We will take steps to strengthen career and technical education…We came close last year to enacting reforms that would provide states more flexibility, reduce administrative burdens, improve accountability, and better ensure students are prepared for in-demand jobs. It is my hope we will finish this important work in the coming months. Furthermore, we will continue our efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable, deliver a patient-centered health care system that provides better access to affordable coverage, and help more Americans retire with financial security and peace of mind.”

Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) also welcomed the members and outlined his priorities for the 115th Congress:

“I also look forward to working with you to achieve a comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. A reauthorization that expands access to college, makes it more affordable, allows students to complete their program with a quality degree or credential that makes them competitive in the 21st century economy.”

The committee then examined its rules package and made minor changes to those policies and procedures followed in the 114th Congress. Two of the provisions in the rules plan include:

• Student Loans. The Department manages $1.3 trillion in outstanding federal student loans and disburses billions in grants and work-study funds each year. The committee will continue to monitor the costs and performance of these programs.
• Higher Education Regulations: Institutions of higher education are subject to myriad federal regulations and reporting requirements that are often burdensome and costly. The regulatory burden is only worsened with rules that interfere with academic freedom, infringe on the authorities of the states, limit student choice, and unfairly target particular sectors of higher education. The committee will continue its oversight of regulatory policies and challenge those that enlarge the federal footprint in higher education.”

Department of Education publishes final rule on procedures by which colleges and universities can defend themselves under the Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations

On Jan. 19, 2017, the Department of Education published a final procedural rule that outlines the process by which colleges and universities can defend themselves against allegations put forth by former students and provide postsecondary institutions accused by the Department of fraud or misrepresentation with the opportunity for an administrative hearing by a designated department official, who will accept evidence and witness testimony. Beginning July 1, 2017, when the Borrower Defense to Repayment rules go into effect, the Department will use the procedural regulation both to determine the validity of borrower claims and to hold institutions liable for losses on those claims. Final decisions of the designated department official can be appealed to the Secretary of Education. The procedural rule takes effect immediately on Jan. 19, 2017 (the day before President Trump took office), but the Department will accept comments until March 20, 2017.

A copy of the procedural rule is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/attachments/FR011917.pdf

Department of Education releases final Debt-to-Earnings Rates for Gainful Employment

On Jan. 9, 2017, the Department of Education released the first debt-earnings (D/E) rates. According to the press release issued on Jan. 9, Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said: “These rates shed a bright light on which career training programs are most likely to prepare students for repaying their student loan debt, and which programs might leave them worse off than when they started.”

Under 34 C.F.R. § 668.404, a Gainful Employment (GE) program passes the D/E rates measure if its annual earnings rate is less than or equal to 8 percent or its discretionary income rate is less than or equal to 20 percent. A GE program fails the D/E rates measure if its annual earnings rate is greater than 12 percent and its discretionary income rate is greater than 30 percent. The press release asserted that over 800 programs failed the D/E rates measure. Ninety-eight percent of the failing programs are offered by for-profit colleges and schools. An additional 1,239 programs received a “zone” rate, with an annual loan repayment rate that is between 20 and 30 percent of discretionary income or between 8 and 12 percent of total earnings.

A copy of the press release is found at: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-releases-final-debt-earnings-rates-gainful-employment-programs

Included in the press release is a link to the Federal Student Aid Data Center, which makes available to the public the final D/E rates: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/data-center/school/ge

Earlier, on Jan. 6, 2017, the Department released 2 Electronic Announcements which provide information on the backup data (#100) and information on alternate earnings appeals for D/E rates and warnings for failing programs. Electronic Announcement #100 is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/010617GEEA100UpcomingRelFinalGEDebttoEarnRates.html, and Electronic Announcement is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/010617GEAnn101AddtlInfoAltEarnAppealsDERates.html

Department clarifies reciprocity definition in State Authorization Regulations

On Jan. 18, 2017, Undersecretary Ted Mitchell sent a letter to National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) Executive Director Marshall Hill and WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) Policy and Analysis Director Russell Poulin confirming that state reciprocity agreements “are a satisfactory means to obtain authorization” for distance education programs. The final rule of Dec. 19, 2016, had raised concerns since it said that the definition of state authorization does not recognize agreements that prohibit a state “from enforcing its own statutes and regulations, whether general or specifically directed at all or a subgroup of educational institutions.” Undersecretary Mitchell said that if there are conflicts between a state’s laws or regulations and a distance education reciprocity agreement, the Department expects the inconsistencies to be resolved because “the Department is in no position to adjudicate disputes between State entities.” The conflict must be resolved before participation in the agreement satisfies the Department’s state authorization definition.

A copy of the letter is found at: http://wcet.wiche.edu/sites/default/files/Ted-Mitchell-Reciprocity-Response.pdf

Secretary King delivers exit memo

On Jan. 5, 2017, Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. delivered his exit memo, “Giving Every Student a Fair Shot: Progress Under the Obama administration’s Education Agenda” to the President. The document outlines the Department’s progress and lays out the framework for sustaining that progress. Notable progress was made in the areas of the best high school graduation rate in history (83 percent), greater access to preschool, and more rigorous standards that prepare all young people for success in college and careers.

One of the highlighted areas was that the Obama administration has remained steadfast in its commitment to college access, affordability, and completion. The exit memo noted that by ending the student loan subsidies to private banks, $60 billion in savings was shifted back to students and taxpayers. In addition, that change allowed the administration to increase the maximum Pell Grant award by over $1,000 while tying it to inflation for the first time ever. In addition, the President’s American Opportunity Tax Credit provides up to $10,000 for four years of college tuition and will cut taxes by over $1,800, on average, for almost 10 million families in 2016. The Department also took major steps to help students obtain financial aid by making the FAFSA easier and faster to complete and by enabling people to apply earlier, starting in October, rather than January. In addition, the Department’s Financial Aid Shopping Sheet and the new College Scorecard give students and families timely and reliable information about college. By keeping student loan interest rates low, a typical student saves over $1,000 over the life of his/her loans. Finally, “through landmark gainful employment regulations, the Department is holding low-performing career colleges accountable for their results. The Department has strengthened accreditation, the quality stamp of approval that colleges need before accessing federal financial aid. And the agency is ensuring that borrowers who have been harmed by their school’s misconduct can seek debt relief while protecting taxpayers by holding schools that mislead and defraud students accountable for the cost of that debt relief.”

A copy of the exit memo is found at: https://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/cabinet-exit-memo.pdf

Undersecretary Mitchell describes the progress made in education in farewell address

On Jan. 12, 2017, Undersecretary Ted Mitchell delivered his farewell address at Northeastern University and described the progress made in higher education, including a million more African-American and Hispanic students are in college today than eight years ago, a record number of students have Pell Grants, and the number of new defaults on student loans is trending down.

Undersecretary Mitchell said the future of higher education will “likely include new education and business models for today’s institutions, and the emergence of new educational providers of high-quality learning.” He noted that to meet the needs of our students, “we’ll need to develop institutions, systems, and infrastructure to support new ways of teaching, learning, and assessment.”

Much of Mr. Mitchell’s address focused on innovation as a way forward for higher education and the need to “focus on student outcomes, hold institutions accountable, and scale up only those innovations that make a real difference for students.”

A copy of Undersecretary Mitchell’s address is found at: http://static.politico.com/ee/3e/285b8ddf4eceae0dd61a3e3d818a/excerpts-of-undersecretary-of-education-ted-mitchells-final-speech.pdf

Department releases 2017 Gainful Employment Disclosure Template

On Jan. 19, 2017, the Department of Education released the 2017 Gainful Employment (GE) Disclosure Template. Institutions will have until April 3, 2017, to update disclosures for each of their GE programs, using the 2017 GE Disclosure Template. Since 2017 will be the first year that the GE disclosures must be made in accordance with the Final Regulations that were published on Oct. 31, 2014, the new template differs significantly from templates used in previous years. One significant change in the new template is that some of the disclosure items for the 2017 template will not be from the most recently completed award year.

A copy of Electronic Announcement #103 is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/011917GEEA103Releaseofthe2017GEDisclosureTemplate.html

Department announces continued progress with borrower defense and closed school discharges

On Jan. 13, 2017, the Department of Education announced plans to grant borrower defense relief for federal direct loan borrowers who attended now-defunct American Career Institute (ACI) in Massachusetts. This follows the Department’s investigation as well as numerous admissions by the school that it made false and misleading representations to students, misstated job placement rates, and employed instructors who were unauthorized to teach under applicable state laws. The Department also announced substantial progress with processing borrower defense claims from former students who attended former Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (CCI) and that approvals are beginning to be made for borrower defense claims from students who attended former ITT Technical Institutes (ITT).

A copy of the press release is found at: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/american-career-institute-borrowers-receive-automatic-group-relief-federal-student-loans

Treasury and Education Departments announce progress toward multi-year income certification system for borrowers in income-driven repayment plans

On Jan. 17, 2017, the Departments of Treasury and Education announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a framework for electronically sharing tax data over multiple years for federal student loan borrowers who participate in income-driven repayment plans. The agreement is intended to simplify the income-driven plans for borrowers by allowing borrowers to provide consent for the Internal Revenue Service to share certain information with FSA and its loan servicers for a period of at least five years. The creation of the multi-year consent system will eliminate the need for borrowers to send in their income information to FSA each year, which is the current requirement.

A copy of the announcement is found at: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/treasury-and-education-announce-progress-toward-multi-year-income-certification-system-student-loan-borrowers-income-driven-repayment-plans

Department announces treatment of FFEL Program loans when a borrower asserts a defense to repayment

On Jan. 18, 2017, the Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter (GEN-17-01) providing lenders and guaranty agencies participating in the FFEL Program with additional details about two provisions of Nov. 1, 2016, final regulations related to borrower defense to repayment. The letter also outlines the process FFEL loan holders will follow to implement these regulations on July 1, 2017, the effective date, or if they choose to implement the regulations early.

A copy of the DCL is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1701.html

Department announces that it fixed an error that inflated loan repayment rates on the College Scorecard and Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

On Jan. 13, 2017, the Department of Education announced that it had updated some of the data on the College Scorecard and the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet. The Department had discovered a coding error that substantially inflated the loan repayment rates for a number of colleges and universities. The erroneous repayment rates appeared on the College Scorecard and in a data attachment to the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet. The announcement said that the relative difference was “modest” and over 90 percent of the institutions on the College Scorecard tool did not change categories (i.e., above, about, or below average).

However, a Wall Street Journal editorial of Jan. 23, 2017 said: “The department played down the mistake, but the new average three-year repayment rate has declined by 20 percentage points to 46 percent. This is huge. It means that fewer than half of undergraduate borrowers at the average college are paying down their debt.”

A copy of the announcement is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/011317UpdatedDataForCollegeScorecardFinaidShopSheet.html

Department releases quarterly list of schools on heightened cash monitoring

On Jan. 11, 2017, the Department of Education released its quarterly list of colleges under heightened cash monitoring. As of Dec. 1, 2016, 538 colleges and universities were on heightened cash monitoring. Of the 538 institutions, 473 were on heightened cash monitoring I and 65 were on heightened cash monitoring 2. The majority of institutions were for-profit institutions (279). There were 131 private nonprofit and 89 public institutions on heightened cash monitoring. Thirty-nine public and private foreign institutions were also on heightened cash monitoring.

A copy of the report is found at: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/data-center/school/hcm

Biden calls on colleges and universities to “step up on sexual assault”

On Jan. 5, 2017, Vice President Joe Biden released a letter to college and university presidents and chancellors on how to combat sexual assault on campuses. Vice President Biden wrote: “As presidents, chancellors, deans, and administrators, you have an obligation to stand up, to speak out, and to foster the safest and most inclusive environment possible for every student that walks onto your campuses.” Mr. Biden recommended steps that colleges and universities have been using to improve their procedures, such as regular climate surveys, fair investigations, and the designation of a Title IX coordinator. He concluded by stating: “At the end of the day, it’s about creating an environment where all students are treated with dignity and respect; where men and women feel empowered to step up and speak out against sexual violence; and where survivors of sexual assault no longer feel ashamed to come forward and ask for help they desperately want and deserve.”

A copy of Vice President Biden’s letter is found at: https://medium.com/@VPOTUS/a-call-to-action-for-college-and-university-presidents-chancellors-and-senior-administrators-52865585c76d#.yet290zeb

Democratic Attorneys General file motions in support of the CFPB and against ACICS

Seventeen Democratic attorneys general are seeking to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in court because there is speculation that President Trump may fire its Director, Richard Cordray. A motion was filed on Jan. 23, 2017 where the attorneys general said they have “a vital interest in defending an independent and effective” CFPB and are seeking to intervene in the case over whether its structure is constitutional. PHH Corporation, et. al. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In an October 2016 decision, the court found the structure of the CFPB unconstitutional. The CFPB files a petition for rehearing of the decision, which is pending.

A copy of the motion is found at: http://www.ct.gov/ag/lib/ag/press_releases/2017/20170123_phh_cfpb_motiontointervene.pdf

On Jan. 24, 2017, attorneys general from five states and the District of Columbia filed a motion asking the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to allow them to interview in defense of the Obama administration’s decision to terminate ACICS. ACICS is currently suing the Department of Education to prevent the implementation of the decision. The attorneys general argue that they should be allowed to join the case “in order to define important state interests” since ACICS approves many of the proprietary institutions in their states. The hearing is set for Feb. 1, 2017.

A copy of the motion is found at: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/state_movants_motion_to_intervene.pdf

Report shows that higher education tax credits lead to few results

A recent report by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) titled, “The Returns to the Federal Tax Credits for Higher Education” finds higher education tax credits have no causal effects on college-going behavior. While many more families were eligible for a higher education tax credit since the introduction of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), and while there were many more claimants, there is no effect on college outcomes, such as whether students enrolled in college or what tuition prices they paid. In fact, there is no evidence to show that the tax credits encourage students to attend schools with higher tuition.

The expansion also significantly increased the cost of tax credits to $23 billion in 2014, an increase of 177 percent from 2008. Some have argued that education benefits administered through the tax system are poorly timed because students and families must pay tuition and fees before they can claim tax benefits as opposed to spending programs, like Pell Grants, which are designed to provide assistance when the money is needed, which is at the time of enrollment.

A copy of the report is available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20833

CFPB sues Navient for failing borrowers throughout repayment

On Jan. 18, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Navient, the largest servicer of both federal and private loans, “for systematically and illegally failing borrowers at every stage of repayment. For years, Navient failed consumers who counted on the company to help give them a fair chance to pay back their student loans,” according to CFPB Director Richard Cordray. He went on to say: “At every stage of repayment, Navient chose to shortcut and deceive consumers to save on operating costs. Too many borrowers paid more for their loans because Navient illegally cheated them and today’s action seeks to hold them accountable.” The CFPB accused Navient of violating three consumer protection laws:

• The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act;
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act; and
• The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

Navient allegedly provided borrowers with inadequate information, incorrectly processed payments, did not address customer complaints, and created obstacles for struggling borrowers to lower their repayments amounts.

In response, Navient issued a statement saying: “The allegations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are unfounded, and the timing of this lawsuit – midnight action filed on the eve of a new administration – reflects their political motivations.”

A copy of the press release is found at: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-sues-nations-largest-student-loan-company-navient-failing-borrowers-every-stage-repayment/

A copy of the Navient press release is found at: http://news.navient.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1008347

CFPB releases student loan fact sheet for service members and veterans

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released “Tackling Student Loan Debt,” which provides information for service members and veterans about their options for repaying their student loans. The guide includes information on the Service Members Civil Relief Act interest rate reduction and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

A copy of the guide is found at: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201405_cfpb_servicemember-student-loan-guide.pdf

The College Board releases report on benefits of higher education

According to a report released on Jan. 11, 2017, by The College Board, titled, “Education Pays 2016: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society,” it takes an average of 12 years to recoup the cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree. The data also showed that college graduates with a full-time job earned an average of 67 percent more than high school graduates last year. In addition, individuals with higher education earn more, pay more taxes, and are more likely than others to be employed and have job benefits such as retirement and health insurance. The report also found that adults with more education are more likely to move up the economic ladder and less likely to rely on public assistance. In addition, the report found a correlation between education and health outcomes, community involvement, and indicators of the well-being of the next generation.

A copy of the report is found at: https://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/education-pays-2016-full-report.pdf

Students at for-profit institutions achieve similar learning results of those who attend for-profit institutions

According to a new study titled, “CLA+ Proprietary vs. Non-Proprietary Report,” by the Council for Aid to Education, students at for-profit institutions achieve learning results that are similar to those of students attending comparable nonprofit institutions. Using its Collegiate Learning Assessment, the Council measured learning outcomes in six areas for 624 students from four for-profit institutions and compared the scores with those of a matched group of students from 20 public and private institutions. “In all six comparisons, students at proprietary institutions outperformed the students at the nonproprietary comparison institution. However, in all but one case, the difference in mean scores is too small to be considered statistically significant.”

A copy of the study is found at: http://cae.org/images/uploads/pdf/CLA_Proprietary_Vs_Non-Proprietary_Report.pdf

SHARON H. BOB PH.D., Higher Education Specialist on Policy and Regulation, is a member of the Education Group at the Washington, DC law firm of Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, PC. Dr. Bob advises all sectors of higher education regarding strategic issues pertaining to their participation in the federal student financial assistance programs, accreditation, licensure, education tax benefits, and related regulatory matters.