For-profit colleges are struggling, but the Trump administration is trying to save the day with fewer regulations and a freeze on Obama-era rules.
The for-profit college industry is struggling under the weight of declining enrollment, stiff competition from traditional universities and an image battered by past misdeeds, even as the Trump administration tries to offer a helping hand.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has hired several industry insiders and frozen Obama-era regulations that would have increased protections for students. She has reduced loan forgiveness relief for some former students defrauded by their schools, meaning that the for-profit industry could be on the hook for less. And she is considering reinstating an ousted oversight agency for many for-profit colleges.
“There is a serious attempt by this department to find that appropriate fair balance for both students and schools,” Steve Gunderson, president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, the industry lobbying group, said in an interview.