NegReg Fails to Reach Compromise

by Daniel L. Bennett

Inside Higher Ed reported today that the Department of Education's (ED) Negotiated Rulemaking Committee failed to reach a consensus during its third round of negotiations last week. The committee ostensibly got hung up on 2 measures that were directed towards career colleges: gainful employment and incentive pay. I wrote negatively about the potential negative impact that such changes would have on the sector in a recent article for Career College Central.

The committees failure means that any regulatory amendments will now be subject to Congress and the political process. I doubt that the attempt to link student debt to income, which is chock-full of problems as I explained here, will survive the political process. This should not, however, be perceived as a free pass to any college to become complacent at seeking to add value to its programs. Students and the taxpayers are investing large sums of money and hope in the postsecondary education system, and these students and the public deserve better outcomes than is currently the case.