The 2020 presidential candidate and Massachusetts Democrat is beginning a new inquiry into what she described as the destructive role of private equity funds in for-profit higher education. Warren, along with Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), will announce today a new effort to get a half-dozen private equity firms to turn over a range of information about their management of colleges and universities.
— Warren and Pocan wrote in letters to six private equity firms that they have “particular concerns” about the effects of for-profit college buyouts on student outcomes.
— “The continued spread of private equity in the for-profit higher education sector, and thus the maximizing of short-term profits at the detriment of students, presents a serious concern for both students and taxpayers,” Warren and Pocan wrote.
— The lawmakers cited a National Bureau of Economic Research study from last year that found “private equity buyouts lead to expanded enrollment and increased profits, but also to higher tuition, lower education inputs, lower graduation rates, higher student borrowing, lower repayment rates, and lower wage earnings.”