The U.S. Department of Education released its final “gainful employment” regulations for for-profit colleges last week, setting performance standards for those colleges that wish to access federal student aid.
The final version gives the schools more time to correct deficiencies and makes it likely that fewer will lose access to federal student-aid dollars.
Under the rules, to be phased in over four years, a program would be considered to lead to gainful employment if at least 35 percent of former students are repaying their loans; or the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 30 percent of the graduates discretionary income or 12 percent of total earnings.
