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Gainful employment rule blocks nation's real priorities
By Henry Herzing: Chancellor of Herzing University
07/07/11 08:34 AM ET

Politics aside, lawmakers in Washington should be able to agree that education, job creation, and the economy must be top priorities in the immediate future.

We should support, not inhibit, those who want to go to college; we should train and educate a robust new workforce to compete in the 21st Century global economy; and we should realize the limits of well-intentioned but misguidedregulations that will prevent millions of students from attending the higher education institutions of their choice.

These are all attainable goals, but lately, Congress and policymakers in Washington have gone astray. Just a month ago, the Department of Education wrote a new regulation, known as the “gainful employment” rule that will cause millions of students to lose out on badly-needed financial aid to attend private sectorcolleges and universities. If students who graduate from these programs do not meet a one-size-fits-all debt-to-future-income ratio requirement, the programs will be forced to close and students will have fewer options for furthering their education and career endeavors.

The result of this misguided rule could not be clearer: less financial aid and fewer vocational training programs means diminishing college graduates and a lessskilled American workforce.......................>>>>...................>>>>...................http://thehill.com/blogs/congr.....ions-real-priorities