Attorney General Masto Calls for Increased Oversight of For-Profit Colleges


October 8, 2014

Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, along with a bipartisan group of 13 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), and U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in  support of their legislation, S2204,  that would improve coordination among federal agencies overseeing the for-profit college industry. 

“The current status quo allows for-profit colleges to focus more on obtaining federal student loans and less on insuring their students receive a quality education,” said Masto.  “This trend is leaving students with sky-high student debt and a degree they can’t use.  Increased federal oversight of for-profit schools will ensure students are being prepared to be competent professionals in their field and are getting the quality education they deserve.”

Currently, at least nine different federal agencies participate in the oversight of for-profit school industry: the Department of Education; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Department of Justice; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Department of Defense; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Federal Trade Commission; the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.  The Propriety Education Oversight Coordination Improvement Act would require representatives from each agency to coordinate efforts and publish a report about for-profit colleges, which would allow Title IV borrowers to make better informed decisions about the school they may want to attend. 

Additionally, the bill would require the interagency committee to hold quarterly meetings as a group and annual meetings with state attorneys general to coordinate federal and state activities related to for-profit school oversight.  The legislation would also charge the committee with publishing a “For-Profit College Warning List” for parents and students, which would identify schools that have engaged in illegal practices or where there is evidence of widespread abuse - including unethical, fraudulent, and/or predatory recruiting or lending practices.

“This bill will provide the federal government with a mechanism by which to hold for-profit colleges more accountable for accepting billions of dollars in taxpayer money and will not conflict with, nor pre-empt the important work of the States in enforcing state law,” the letter states.  “Further, this bill will help prevent Title IV funds from continuing to line the pockets of some for-profit colleges that offer deficient educations in a deceptive manner.”

In addition to General Masto, attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee signed the letter supporting passage of the legislation.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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