July 21, 2011

Federal Scrutiny of For-Profits Spurs State Action

As the for-profit higher education industry continues to fight federal regulation, states are starting to pay more attention to the fast growing sector. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reports that, as of May, twenty states have introduced at least 34 bills aimed at regulating or supporting for-profit higher education. NCSL reports that eight of these bills have already passed, six have failed or been vetoed, and twenty remain in play. They provide a summary of each piece of legislation, as well as a webpage that centralizes information on this topic from various sources.

Meanwhile, Senator Harkin continues to investigate the sector, and a 10 state joint investigation into the practices of for-profit institutions remains ongoing. It appears that one result of all this scrutiny is that the industry has been pressured to begin to take preemptive action toward restructuring and increased transparency.

For previous OPBlog posts on this topic see:

• Senator Tom Harkin and the HELP Committee Continue to Investigate For-Profit Colleges
• Under Federal Fire, For-Profit College Point Finger at Publics
• New Federal Higher Ed Regulations Published Today
• Federal Scrutiny of For-Profit Colleges Turns to Recruitment of Veterans
• GAO Details How For-Profit Colleges Exploit Veterans
• Momentum Building to Reign in For-Profits
• Harkin Holds What Could be Last Senate Hearing on For-Profits