Student Access Student Choice Coalition Supports Effort to Defund Gainful Employment Rule

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Student Access Student Choice (SASC) coalition today released the following statement in response to numerous releases and reports of an effort to defund the Department of Education's proposed "gainful employment" rule through a Congressional bipartisan amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives: 

"Reports that Congress is acting to stop any funding to the proposed 'gainful employment' rule is good news for full-time workers, single parents, returning veterans and adult learners.  Private sector colleges and universities enable more Americans to balance work and family obligations, while they pursue a degree that allows them to obtain good quality jobs," said Robert Herzog, steering committee member of the Student Access Student Choice (SASC) coalition.  "With the nation fighting to distance itself from the Great Recession and unemployment at historic levels, it only makes sense for the U.S. House to work to stop job-killing policies that will force more schools to close and obstruct students from obtaining the skills they need to compete in a 21st Century marketplace."

BACKGROUND:

Gainful Employment Regulation Will Result In Loss Of Access To Education And Jobs:

Chamber Of Commerce President Thomas Donohue: "This ill-conceived regulation will work against job creation, only resulting in jobs lost and fewer Americans getting the post-secondary education and training they need to secure work in today's economy." (Loralee Stevens, "Career Colleges React Strongly To Fed's 'Gainful Employment' Rules," North Bay Business Journal, 11/22/11)

President & CEO Of The National Black Chamber Of Commerce Harry C. Alford: "It is well-established that the strongest predictor of employment status is the level of education a prospective worker has attained. Job seekers with college degrees have a far higher chance of landing a job than those with only high school diplomas. … The Department of Education should be leading the way in developing tools to get more students into college. Instead, they are singling out one vitally important segment of the post-secondary landscape and putting up 'no trespassing' signs, keeping out the students who would benefit the most." (Harry C. Alford, Op-Ed, "The Root: New Loan Rules Harm Minority Students," http://www.npr.org, 9/13/10)

President & CEO Of The Small Business &Entrepreneurship Council Karen Kerrigan: "The regulations will sink many career colleges that graduate scores of skilled workers – specialists in such fields as technology integration, computer-aided drafting and medical diagnostics – that our economy needs." (Karen Kerrigan, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, 9/30/10)

Northwestern Associate Professor Jonathan Guryan & Charles River Associates VP Matthew Thompson: "Our most conservative estimates suggest that nearly 1.2 million fewer students would enter postsecondary schooling over the next decade as a result of the proposed rule." (Public Comment On Proposed Gainful Employment Rule, http://ed-success.org/pdf/Public-Comment-Guryan-Thompson.pdf, 9/9/10)

Former Governor Of New Jersey & Chairman Of The Federal 9/11 Commission Thomas H. Kean: "The department's current approach is risky and illogical. Instead of focusing on crucial U.S. higher education assets – community colleges, career colleges, traditional four-year colleges and universities – it is singling out one segment. Yet this segment – career colleges – provides access for many students who might otherwise not attend college." (Thomas H. Kean, "Creating Bipartisan Education Reform," Politico, 11/29/10)

For-Profit Colleges Instrumental In Training Job Force:

High Risk Students: 70% More Successful At For-Profit Colleges. High risk students entering career colleges are 70% more likely to graduate than those who enter comparable public institutions. (Robert J. Shapiro and Nam D. Pham "Taxpayers' Costs to Support Higher Education," Sonecon Report, 9/10)

Health Degrees & Certificates: 42%. "Forty-two percent of health degrees and certificates conferred at less-than-two-year and two-year institutions were awarded at career colleges." (Imagine America Foundation, Fact Book 2010, 9/7/10)

Business Degree & Certificates: 44%. "Forty-four percent of business degrees and certificates conferred at less-than-two-year and two-year institutions were awarded at career colleges." (Imagine America Foundation, Fact Book 2010, 9/7/10)

Technology Degrees & Certificates: 27%. "Twenty-seven percent of technology degrees and certificates conferred at less-than-two-year and two-year institutions were awarded at career colleges; 30% of technology degrees and certificates conferred at four-year-or-more institutions were awarded at career colleges."(Imagine America Foundation, Fact Book 2010, 9/7/10)

Top Three Institutions To Award African Americans Doctorates In Business. "Of the top 10 institutions awarding doctorates in business to African American students, the top three degree producers were career colleges." (Imagine America Foundation, Fact Book 2010, 9/7/10)

SOURCE Student Access Student Choice Coalition