WASHINGTON–Dressed in the hospital scrubs, chef jackets and mechanic suits of their professions, more than 1,000 students and graduates of for-profit colleges gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday to tell Congress that federal loans put toward their educations are worthwhile investments.
The ralliers protested “gainful employment” regulations introduced by the Department of Education that would restrict students from taking out federal loans to attend profit-focused colleges. The colleges, which include institutions like University of Phoenix, target low-income job seekers in need of training to enter vocational careers with online classes, flexible hours and, for now, accommodating financial aid packages built on federal tax dollars.
The gainful employment regulations intend to protect students and American taxpayers from investing in education that does not produce sustainable jobs.
But the November start date slated for gainful employment rules has been pushed to sometime in 2011 because of resistance from students and corporations who are invested in the for-profit education system. The Senate Health Education Labor and Finance Committee will hold its third hearing to discuss the issue Thursday.
At the last hearing, Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, reported that enrollment in for-profit colleges increased from 600,000 to 2 million over the last decade, causing federal financial aid to students to grow from $12.8 billion to $26 billion. A government analysis of the eight publicly traded for-profit colleges reported they spent 31 percent of profits on recruitment—billboards, TV commercials and Web ads.
Harris Miller, president of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities said there will be no success stories being presented at Thursday’s hearing.
But at the rally, there were success stories.
One is John Nuss, 23, who is studying to be an automotive technician at Lincoln Technical Institute in Columbia, Md. He will finish his degree in six months andhas a job lined up upon graduaton. Nuss said he went to Lincoln Tech because it fit his learning and lifestyle.
“I did have an option to go to a state college, but it was too expensive and this was closer to home,” Nuss said. “They’re also more into the field, whereas in school, they’re into the books.”
Another success in the making might be Kerbe Fuller, 26, who splits her time between her job as a medical assistant and her place in the classroom at Virginia College in Birmingham, Ala. She earned her first medical degree in one year at Virginia College and will be certified as a nurse at the end of her second year.
“I found my first job within a month of graduation,” Fuller said. “Our career counselor was really adamant about getting our resumes out and getting us out on interviews.”
Fuller said that 92 percent of the classmates she graduated with in December of 2009 now have jobs.
Both sides of the for-profit college debate agree that job placement is the best way to measure the return of federal loans’ investment. Separate studies by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools and the Coalition for Education Success both report an average of 75 percent of 2009 graduates of for-profit institutions received jobs within six months.
The discussion in the Senate on Thursday will be if a 75 percent job placement rate is enough to spend next year’s estimated $30.6 billion needed to sustain the demand of for-profit college education.