Dive Brief:
- U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) opposes the two key education initiatives President Barack Obama plans to push through before the end of his second term.
- National Journal reports that, at its education forum, Alexander said he would try to stop a college ratings system through legislation if it were to be implemented because he doesn’t think the Department of Education has the capacity to run it.
- Alexander also thinks the gainful employment rule is too complicated and vowed to block it in favor of a simpler law that would apply to all colleges, giving them some responsibility for repaying loans students acquired to fund their degrees, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
The gainful employment rule would apply to for-profit career colleges and community colleges that offer career certificates, rather than degrees for certain programs. While the legislation applies to both groups, it is directed at the pricey for-profit colleges that encourage students to take out irresponsible amounts of debt to cover programs that don’t, in turn, prepare graduates for careers that allow them to pay off their loans.
The ratings system is supposed to provide an alternative to U.S. News & World Report-style rankings that have been criticized since their inception for focusing on questionable metrics and encouraging schools to game the system in ways that do not benefit students. The system is meant to provide quality information to parents and students to aid their college decision-making process.