Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at 2:00 p.m., the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy will hold a hearing on “Examining For-Profit College Oversight and Student Debt."
WHERE: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building
WHEN: Wednesday, May 22, 2019
TIME: 2:00 p.m.
A livestream will broadcast here.
PURPOSE & BACKGROUND
The Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the practices of for-profit colleges, the epidemic of for-profit college collapses, the Department of Education's lack of oversight of for-profit colleges, and the effects on student borrowers and taxpayers.
Due to their predatory practices, many for-profit colleges are at risk of losing accreditation and financial collapse. As of December 2018, over 270 for-profit schools were under financial scrutiny by the Department of Education.
Under Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Department announced its plan to eliminate one of the strongest for-profit accountability standards known as the “gainful employment rule." Passed under the Obama administration, the gainful employment rule would have prohibited federal student aid funding from going to for-profit institutions whose graduates have failing debt-to earnings rates.
Additionally, the Department has not processed a single borrower-defense claim, meant to protect students that have been defrauded by their schools, in almost a year. Since June 2018, the number of unprocessed claims has ballooned to over 158,000.
On March 6, 2018, Diane Auer Jones was appointed to be senior policy adviser to Secretary DeVos. Previously, Jones was a lobbyist for Career Education Corporation (CEC), a for-profit education provider. She advocated against the implementation of the gainful employment rule. She is currently tasked with overseeing an industry for which she previously lobbied.
WITNESSES
Diane Auer Jones
Principal Deputy Under Secretary
Department of Education
Robert J. (RJ) Infusino
Former Student
Illinois Institute of Art
Christopher Madaio
Assistant Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
Maryland Office of the Attorney General
David Halperin
Attorney & Counselor
Republic Report
Lindsey Burke (minority witness)
Director, Center for Education Policy
The Heritage Foundation
