September 27, 2023
Today, the Department of Education publicly released its finalized Gainful Employment Rule – a 1,000-page regulation that would directly harm students who want flexibility as they earn a higher education degree or certification. The Department will now have the discretion to deny student loans for degrees or certificates in career training programs they deem inadequate regarding the expected salary of graduates. It’s the latest example of government overreach from the Biden administration.
During the rulemaking process, CASE played an active role in pushing back on the Department’s arguments in favor of the rule. We submitted comments, testified against the rule, and wrote a letter to Congress urging them to prohibit funding for the rule. Our message was simple: this rule would close good schools, increase consumer costs, and reduce options for students.
We are extremely disappointed that the Department ignored the facts and plowed forward with its final rule.
The following statement was issued by Gerard Scimeca, chairman and co-founder of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE):
“American consumers benefit from more options in the education sector. Unfortunately, the final Gainful Employment Rule published today by the Biden administration will likely reduce the amount of options available to students that want to learn skills at career colleges and technical schools. Even the administration notes that upwards of 1,800 programs may be forced to close under this rule.
“The federal government shouldn’t punish students who choose for-profit colleges or vocational training, but that is exactly what the DOE is doing with its GE rule. That’s why we were proud to push back in our written comments, direct testimony, and letter to Capitol Hill. The rule may be final, but our efforts to stop the rule from going into effect are far from over. We look forward to working with our partners in Congress to ensure students are protected and that this rule never goes into effect.”
Read CASE’s written Comments to the Department of Education here.
Read CASE’s letter to Congressman Aderholt on the Gainful Employment rule here.
