DOE's "Gainful Employment" regs are under fire from yet another quarter

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
May 9, 2011
Minority Groups Demand Inquiry Into 'Gainful Employment' Rule

By Kelly Field

Washington

In a last-ditch effort to derail the Education Department's plan to impose a "gainful employment" rule, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Leadership Fund are demanding an assessment of the rule's likely impact on minority students.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the presidents of the groups warned that the rule, which was sent to the Office of Management and Budget for final review last week, could deny access to higher education to more than a million minority students. The draft version of the rule, released last year, would cut off federal student aid to programs whose graduates carry high debt-to-income ratios and have low loan-repayment rates. The rule has drawn sharp criticism from for-profit colleges, which would be most affected by its provisions.

Here's what the National Black Chamber of Commerce posted:

TELECONFERENCE:

Rev. Jesse Jackson Endorses Minority Leaders' Call to Stop Gainful Employment

Regulation targets millions of minority students but DoED doesn’t understand impact it will have on low-income and minority students

Policy written behind DoED closed doors with short-seller influence

WASHINGTON: Just as we expect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct an environmental impact assessment on the positive and negative impact a proposed project will have on a surrounding area, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and Lanny Davis, are joining with the Hispanic Leadership Fund to host a press conference call on Monday, May 9, 2011, demanding that the Department of Education undergo a "Minority Student Impact Assessment" to determine how many students will be affected by the controversial "Gainful Employment" rule that is set to be finalized in upcoming weeks. We believe that the proposed rule, which creates the perverse incentive for colleges to avoid enrolling low income and minority students altogether, will worsen the already large degree attainment gaps the Blacks and Hispanics face in this country.

The Department of Education has largely ignored the criticism of its proposed regulation and has remained secretive about its final version of the rule. As the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviews the rule, minority leaders will call for an assessment on how their constituencies will be affected by this regulation.

Who: Harry Alford, President and CEO of NBCC
Lanny Davis, former Clinton White House Special Counsel
Mario H. Lopez, President of Hispanic Leadership Fund

When: Monday May 9, 2011 at 1:00 pm ET

Conference Line: (866) 813-5647
Passcode: 29752749

RSVP: kdebow@nationalbcc.org