Repaying Student Loan Debt

By Paul Reinfeldt


After months of deliberation, the Obama government issued a proposed gainful work regulation in an attempt to protect pupils from plans at for profit colleges that abandon them with unmanageable debt and worthless degrees. The proposed rule contains provisions requiring livelihood instruction systems to meet certain standards related to the debt-to-earnings ratio and default speed of graduates.

Too often, for-profit faculties get away with using predatory and deceptive approaches to bully our most vulnerable students -- including minority, veteran, and low-income students -- into "profession" programs that fail to make them profession-ready. As a teacher of mostly low-income and minority students for more than 20 years, I know what these students desire from post-secondary education. They desire access to affordable degree and certificate programs that lead right to great jobs.

In Congress, I've headed multiple exertions to support the government's rulemaking procedure for gainful work also to train my fellow workers. Sadly, I've found the problem is little recognized here on Capitol Hill. Along with the strong for profit lobby is persistent -- equally in its portrayal of for-earnings as sufferers in this argument as well as in its campaign contributions.

For-earnings want to promise that they're pupil-focussed and committed to serving, training, and planning under-served and underrepresented residents for the work force, but the figures tell another narrative.

Maybe even more telling than these figures is the fact that the very organizations devoted to advocating for and protecting minority, veteran, and low-income peoples are doubtful of for-profit programs and support strong gainful employment regulations. These groups contain the AFL-CIO, NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Student Veterans of America, and others. In reality, at a gainful employment briefing that I organized on the Hill for Members of Congress and their staff, associates from a number of these groups spoke passionately regarding the damaging effects a number of these programs have had on these populations.

Despite enormous attempts by the Organization of Private Sector Colleges and Colleges (APSCU) -- the linchpin of the for profit lobby -- I understand that there's powerful support in the House of Reps for gainful work regulations. Last year, I had been joined by 34 of my co-workers in delivering letters to the Government in support of a gainful work regulation. And I understand that there's extensive public support for cracking down on for-profits. A request I established together with the organization CREDO in opposition to HR 2637, which will stop the department education from issuing gainful work regulations, garnered over 101,000 signatures.

My employees and I've met with for-profit college representatives several times. In all these assemblies, we hear the same rhetoric -- our plans are doing their job, they're all correctly accredited, our graduation and employment-placement speeds are great. Some of these even inform us that lousy actors should be penalized and that they would support a version of a gainful work regulation.

Again, the government's planned rule is a strong move toward shielding our pupils.




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