Trump Administration Proposes Erasing Nearly a Decade of Progress Protecting Students Against Unaffordable Debts

“Today the Trump Administration proposed to erase the gainful employment rule, which protects hundreds of thousands of students from being swamped by loans they cannot afford.

“The gainful employment rule ensures that career education programs cannot leave their graduates with low earnings and unaffordable student debts. Deleting the rule would be costly for both students and taxpayers. A single round of Department of Education data showed that more than 350,000 students graduated from substandard programs with nearly $7.5 billion in unaffordable debt. The gainful employment rule is needed to prevent programs like these from bilking students and taxpayers.

“Opposed by an industry with deep pockets and billions of taxpayer dollars to lose, the rule has been subjected to nearly a decade of close scrutiny, analysis and debate, including nearly 200,000 public comments, and survived multiple court challenges. In fact, there is stronger evidence than ever that the rule is working. Colleges have improved the value they offer students, and when they can’t improve, students can find better alternatives.

“Disclosure cannot substitute for actual program accountability. Yet despite paying lip service to the need for better consumer information, the proposal would wipe out existing disclosure requirements.

“The Administration put its cards on the table today, and it’s clear that it has little interest in protecting students or taxpayers from excessive, unaffordable student debts.”