Civil Rights Group back "Gainful Employment" rule

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
May 10, 2011
Civil-Rights Coalition Urges Swift Approval of 'Gainful Employment' Rule

By Kelly Field

Washington

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is urging the federal Office of Management and Budget to quickly approve the Education Department's proposed "gainful employment" rule.

In a statement issued Monday evening, Wade Henderson, the group's president, said the rule—which would cut off federal student aid to programs whose students carry unmanagement debt—would protect students of color from for-profit programs that "fail to deliver on their promises."

Here's what the Leadership Conference says about itself on its website:

About The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights & The Leadership Conference Education Fund

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society – an America as good as its ideals.

The Leadership Conference is a 501(c)(4) organization that engages in legislative advocacy. It was founded in 1950 and has coordinated national lobbying efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957.

The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund's campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States.

The Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax-deductible. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference.

Here's more information on alleged for-profit abuses from that website:

Government Steps Up Scrutiny of For-Profit College Abuses
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May 9, 2011 - Posted by Tyler Lewis

Prosecutors in 10 states, including Kentucky, Florida, and Illinois, have launched a multi-state investigation into allegations that for-profit colleges are using fraudulent methods to recruit students to attend their schools.

For-profit colleges have come under fire over the past year for their recruiting practices – which often target low-income and minority students – and failing to educate students for "gainful employment," leaving students with a mountain of student-loan debt (while the schools themselves make billions). Some universities resort to recruiting in homeless shelters and halfway houses to find students who are eligible for federal financial aid, which make up the bulk of these colleges’ income.

Students enrolled in for-profit schools represent a little more than 10 percent of all college students in the United States but account for 44 percent of all student-loan defaults. These institutions get more than 80 percent of their revenues from federal student aid.

The multi-state investigation comes just days after the Department of Justice joined a lawsuit alleging that Education Management Corporation, a company that operates a number of for-profit schools, illegally paid its recruiters based on the number of students they convinced to attend its schools.

Civil rights groups have been concerned about the fact that these institutions are taking advantage of low-income and minority students who often do not have other options for post-secondary education. In February, a group of civil rights, education, labor, and consumer organizations, including The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, sent a letter in February to the Department of Education in support of a proposed regulation of for-profit colleges that will spare millions of students "entry into a proven dead-end educational track."

Under the rule, for-profit colleges that fail to demonstrate that their programs are preparing students for "gainful employment" would risk losing their eligibility to participate in federal education grant and loan programs.

The Department of Education is expected to release the rule in the coming weeks.