Representative Tom Sannicandro joined his House colleagues Wednesday in passing a bill that protects students who enroll in for-profit occupational schools by expanding oversight of the industry, which has seen exponential growth in enrollment and profits in the last several years.
Sen. Dick Durbin [D-Ill.] recently proposed a bill that would dramatically change the way federal money can be allocated to for-profit colleges. Currently, for-profits are bound by what’s known as the “90-10 rule,” which says that 10 percent of for-profit college and universities’ revenues must come from sources outside of federal student aid. But G.I. Bill benefits can be counted towards the 10 percent, making them a lucrative source of revenue for the for-profits.
A little-known California law has dealt a blow to nearly half of the for-profit college campuses in the state, barring them from offering students a coveted Cal Grant this year.
US traditional public and non-profit private tertiary institutions have frequently criticised their for-profit competitors for failing to ‘be like us’. The latter’s business plan does not complement the former’s self-anointed purity. If for-profits pursue an operating surplus or profit for their owners, it must be at the expense of academic quality, they surmise.