The SBE Council has been closely following the Department of Education's proposed regulations on “Gainful Employment.” If implemented, these disastrous new regulations will hurt the ability of our workforce to obtain the training they need to be employed in a competitive, skill-based economy. Small business owners need skilled workers in order to grow and stay competitive, and SBE Council has strongly opposed these misguided regulations.
On February 18th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Kline Amendment as part of a Continuing Resolution on the budget. The amendment defunds the Department of Education’s proposed regulations on “Gainful Employment.”
Members of Congress are currently in budget negotiation talks and will likely work through the weekend to finalize the budget. If the "Gainful Employment" rule is implemented, it would deny federal financial aid to hundreds of thousands of students who attend for-profit career colleges. These institutions have been critical in adapting training and learning environments that meet the ever-changing needs of American business. They provide America's workforce with critical skills to obtain better jobs.
SBE Council encourages you to call your Representatives today and urge them to support the amendment. Please call 202-225-3121 to contact your Congressman and Senators.
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO
Showing posts with label Education rule on career colleges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education rule on career colleges. Show all posts
Friday, April 01, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Regulatory Low Hanging Fruit: Department of Education Rule Will Destroy Job Opportunities
SBE Council has applauded President Obama’s new strategy that intends to avoid “excessive, inconsistent and redundant regulations.” The President unveiled the initiative last week, and he highlighted the effort in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening.
Small business owners truly hope this new strategy is applied across the board – at HHS, the Department of Labor, IRS, OSHA and the Department of Education -- the last of which has unfairly targeted for-profit colleges with regulations that will hurt U.S. competitiveness and the readiness of our workforce.
Career colleges have played a crucial role in preparing young Americans for the workforce, especially for those individuals considered “at risk.” During this tough economic period, our policy makers need to focus on giving young adults every opportunity to attain relevant skills that lead to successful employment.
Unfortunately, the intrusive and unwarranted regulations being pushed by the Department of Education will make it more difficult for those in need to obtain financial aid to attend for-profit programs.
Imposing arbitrary regulations on career colleges will not only hurt those who depend on these entities for skills training, it will also hurt small businesses that need skilled workers in order to compete. Small business owners are the greatest beneficiaries of the newly skilled individuals who graduate from career colleges, and more are needed in the U.S. labor pool.
The president wants to increase U.S. competitiveness and the number of college graduates by 2020. However, the Department of Education needs to stop undermining this goal through its misguided regulation. Students deserve the choice to attend schools that will give them an opportunity to succeed in the workforce. Businesses need the skilled individuals that graduate from these colleges.
President Obama says he wants to get rid of those regulations that impose unnecessary burdens on the economy, and those -- in his words -- that are just plain “stupid.” He can start with this Department of Education rule. It makes no sense, and undermines every goal he has set for our nation.
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO
Small business owners truly hope this new strategy is applied across the board – at HHS, the Department of Labor, IRS, OSHA and the Department of Education -- the last of which has unfairly targeted for-profit colleges with regulations that will hurt U.S. competitiveness and the readiness of our workforce.
Career colleges have played a crucial role in preparing young Americans for the workforce, especially for those individuals considered “at risk.” During this tough economic period, our policy makers need to focus on giving young adults every opportunity to attain relevant skills that lead to successful employment.
Unfortunately, the intrusive and unwarranted regulations being pushed by the Department of Education will make it more difficult for those in need to obtain financial aid to attend for-profit programs.
Imposing arbitrary regulations on career colleges will not only hurt those who depend on these entities for skills training, it will also hurt small businesses that need skilled workers in order to compete. Small business owners are the greatest beneficiaries of the newly skilled individuals who graduate from career colleges, and more are needed in the U.S. labor pool.
The president wants to increase U.S. competitiveness and the number of college graduates by 2020. However, the Department of Education needs to stop undermining this goal through its misguided regulation. Students deserve the choice to attend schools that will give them an opportunity to succeed in the workforce. Businesses need the skilled individuals that graduate from these colleges.
President Obama says he wants to get rid of those regulations that impose unnecessary burdens on the economy, and those -- in his words -- that are just plain “stupid.” He can start with this Department of Education rule. It makes no sense, and undermines every goal he has set for our nation.
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO
Monday, November 22, 2010
Controversy envelops “gainful employment” rulemaking
The political storm continues to foment over the Obama Administration’s proposal to regulate for-profit career colleges. As I noted in a recent opinion piece for The Hill newspaper, career colleges have secured a critical niche in adapting training and learning environments that meet the ever-changing needs of American business. They provide America’s workforce with critical skills to obtain better jobs.
The intrusive regulation being sought by the U.S. Department of Education is known as the “Gainful Employment” rule. It proposes to take away federal financial aid to students - if their projected earnings after graduation don’t meet a certain debt-to-income ratio. Most often, the students who attend these schools are from low-income and minority communities. They don’t have the resources or time to attend a traditional university, and they rely on flexible classes and graduation timelines to acquire skills to land jobs. If the department imposes these draconian regulations, students will be denied funding and their higher education opportunities will be severely limited. Moreover, American business will be denied the type of skilled labor and human capital that will help our economy grow and compete at the international level.
The story over the Gainful Employment rule has only gotten uglier. Now, there are allegations that the department leaked information to short sellers and other proponents of the rule who would benefit financially if the rule was imposed. Thankfully, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) wrote a letter to the Department of Education Inspector General requesting that this matter be looked into more carefully to determine whether information was leaked. Certainly this matter must be investigated.
The rulemaking must also be dropped.
Instead of punishing students just trying to get ahead in a tough job market, the Department of Education should be leveraging the power of career colleges to put more Americans back to work. The proposed regulation is simply another bad idea -- and another painful reminder about how out of touch Washington is with the needs of American business and workers.
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO
The intrusive regulation being sought by the U.S. Department of Education is known as the “Gainful Employment” rule. It proposes to take away federal financial aid to students - if their projected earnings after graduation don’t meet a certain debt-to-income ratio. Most often, the students who attend these schools are from low-income and minority communities. They don’t have the resources or time to attend a traditional university, and they rely on flexible classes and graduation timelines to acquire skills to land jobs. If the department imposes these draconian regulations, students will be denied funding and their higher education opportunities will be severely limited. Moreover, American business will be denied the type of skilled labor and human capital that will help our economy grow and compete at the international level.
The story over the Gainful Employment rule has only gotten uglier. Now, there are allegations that the department leaked information to short sellers and other proponents of the rule who would benefit financially if the rule was imposed. Thankfully, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) wrote a letter to the Department of Education Inspector General requesting that this matter be looked into more carefully to determine whether information was leaked. Certainly this matter must be investigated.
The rulemaking must also be dropped.
Instead of punishing students just trying to get ahead in a tough job market, the Department of Education should be leveraging the power of career colleges to put more Americans back to work. The proposed regulation is simply another bad idea -- and another painful reminder about how out of touch Washington is with the needs of American business and workers.
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO
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