Target: Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education
Goal: Support gainful employment rule that safeguards students from unfair debt and fraudulent programs.
As the cost of higher education continues its upward climb, controversies surrounding student debt and fraudulent institutions are swirling. Debt cancellation continues to be a political football, as evidenced by this ForceChange petition. And the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reached a settlement with the University of Phoenix after the for-profit institution was accused of deceiving students about job prospects after graduation. The Department of Education has responded to many of the complaints with a new rule that will level the playing field for students looking to better their lives.
The gainful employment rule is making a comeback in a stronger form. The new and improved rule is all about return on investment for college graduates. It will require most graduate programs, select non-degree programs, and for-profit institutions as a whole to demonstrate their post-graduation value. Each affected program and institution will be subject to a test to determine if graduates can reasonably make debt payments and if they are actually earning more than counterparts with just a high school education. The schools will have two years to meet these criteria, or else they will lose federal financial aid and likely undergo closure. In a validation of transparency, the collected data will also be available to students.
Sign the petition below to applaud an overdue reform that helps ensure the value of higher education.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Cardona,
“As we fight for greater college affordability, we must demand greater accountability. We can’t keep throwing taxpayer-funded financial aid dollars at colleges that cost students an arm and a leg and then leave them in a ditch, unable to climb the economic ladder.” We thank you for those words, and with the reinstitution and strengthening of the gainful employment rule abandoned by the previous Department of Education, you are putting decisive action behind them.
Thank you for helping and protecting all students who want to better their lives through education.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Tara Winstead
It’s about time students had some help. As you said, “As we fight for greater college affordability, we must demand greater accountability. We can’t keep throwing taxpayer-funded financial aid dollars at colleges that cost students an arm and a leg and then leave them in a ditch, unable to climb the economic ladder.”
I appreciate your helping and protecting all students who want to better their lives through education. Maybe now they will have the chance they o deserve!