Decision to uphold gainful employment rule is a win for students, families & taxpayers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after learning that the Department of Education’s gainful employment rule was upheld in a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit to deny an appeal by a national for-profit college trade group.  The appeal was brought by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities on behalf of the for-profit college industry.

“Rather than fighting standards designed to ensure students are receiving quality education for the price they are paying, the for-profit college industry should be spending their time and money improving their curriculum to meet those standards,” said Durbin.  “Today’s decision is a win for students, their families and taxpayers who have been victimized by this industry for far too long.”

Durbin has worked for more than five years to shine a light on the practices of the for-profit college industry which delivers student outcomes that are questionable and end in much higher rates of student loan defaults than other sectors of higher education.  For-profit colleges account for 40% of student loan defaults though they only enroll 10% of all college students.

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