Education has been an evolving enterprise since Plato first sat at Socrates' feet. What sets the past few decades apart in the history of education, though, is the rapid pace of change. New technologies, workforce demands, consumer expectations, entrepreneurial innovations and public sensitivity to cost are increasing the pressure for accessible,…

Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist…

For-profit colleges do not always recruit aggressively; nor do they always shortchange students. But the problem of colleges systematically overpromising and underdelivering, when it does happen, has largely been a for-profit phenomenon. The abuses have been the most widespread and most damaging when they have been fueled by government grants and…

The upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides opportunities and presents challenges for financial aid administrators. This article outlines steps that aid administrators can take and challenges they may face in preparing for and responding to new legislation.

This report addresses the trend of for-profit colleges going exclusively online or contracting with nonprofit (mostly public) colleges to run their online programs. Using results from focus groups of for-profit student borrowers, we explore the risks that this rapid shift entails for students already vulnerable to poor outcomes. The Department of…

Both federal spending on financial aid and student loan default rates have increased over the past decade. These trends have intensified policymakers' concerns that some postsecondary institutions-- particularly in the for-profit sector--maximize revenue derived from federal financial aid without helping students to graduate or find employment.…

The purpose of this hearing was to examine the burdensome regulations imposed on institutions of higher education and accrediting bodies by the Department of Education. In late 2010 the administration introduced regulations on 14 separate higher education issues. While many of these new regulations inject the federal government into areas that…

For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest-growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools, many of them big national chains, derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they…

For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools--many of them big national chains--derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they…

The growth over the last decade of the for-profit sector of higher education (also known as the proprietary sector) has been well documented. In 1999, for-profit colleges and universities enrolled approximately 629,000 students, or a little over 4 percent of the nation's 15.2 million students. By 2009, this sector had increased to 2.2 million…

For the past eight years, the Babson Survey Research Group has conducted surveys of higher education institutions on their attitudes, beliefs, and practices concerning online education. This current report is a new analysis of this collection of data, focusing on the role of online education among private-sector colleges and universities. For the…

Once comprised of local, sole-proprietor ownership, the nation's for-profit institutions now range from small, privately owned schools to publicly traded corporations. Enrollment in such colleges has grown far faster than in traditional higher-education institutions. Moreover, during the 2009-2010 school year, for-profit colleges received almost…

The Secretary is amending the Federal Student Aid Program regulations to implement the changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), resulting from the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA), Public Law 109-171, and other recently enacted legislation. These final regulations reflect the provisions of the HERA that…

Outlines the federal legislative and regulatory processes concerning student financial aid, with the objective of encouraging participation in modification of the rules by which schools, lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies must administer Title IV (Higher Education Act) financial aid. Topics discussed include authorization/reauthorization,…

This volume lists the unique codes assigned by the Department of Education to all postsecondary institutions (public, private, and proprietary) participating in the student aid program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The list is organized by state, and alphabetically by institution within each state. Introductory information details…