Rep. Waters Applauds Department of Education's 'Gainful Employment' Rule
Press Release
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Department of Education's enactment of the "gainful employment' rule:
"Today's enactment of the "gainful employment' rule was a victory for students and consumers, and additionally those of us who've been fighting on their behalf against predatory for-profit institutions, " said Rep. Waters. "Many for-profit institutions exist not to give their students a quality education, but simply to line the pockets of CEOs and shareholders. This rule is an important and necessary first step towards additional oversight over the for-profit college industry, and cracking down on their misleading representation of employment prospects upon graduation."
The Department's "gainful employment' rule will require colleges to ensure their employed graduates do not spend more than 8% of total income on loan repayments. Institutions that exceed this figure will be at risk of losing eligibility for federal Title IV student aid. Many for-profit colleges have failed to prepare their students for the workforce and they account for 44 percent of federal student loan defaults, yet enroll 11 percent of students nationwide.
Congresswoman Waters has been a leader in the fight against predatory higher education institutions since serving in the California State Assembly, where in 1989, she authored the Maxine Waters School Reform and Protection Act, which set a threshold for minimum job placement, graduation rates, and required for-profit institutions to be more transparent in their recruitment practices.
More recently, Rep. Waters is advocating for broad-based debt relief for students who were targeted with predatory loans from for-profit colleges. She was also the first Member of Congress to endorse the "Corinthian 100'-- a group of one hundred students who refused to make payments on their predatory loans from Corinthian Colleges.
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