Education Regulations: Roadblocks to Student Choice in Higher Education. Hearing before the Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session (March 17, 2011). Serial Number 112-13

This paper presents the fourth Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on the federal rules and regulations that undermine the strength of this nation's education system. Congress has purposely never defined the term "gainful employment," despite its presence in the statute for the past 50 years. It was decided that any attempt to define such an evolving concept could have unintended consequences. However, some in the administration seem to believe they know better than Congress. Last year, the Department of Education issued a new regulation that attempts for the first time to define "gainful employment." Under the regulation, proprietary colleges would be required to seek pre-approval from the federal government before creating new programs and adhere to a confusing formula that utilizes the debt-to-income ratio and loan repayment rates of program graduates to determine eligibility for federal student aid. Additionally, these institutions would face a host of new and unprecedented reporting requirements. This gainful employment regulation is yet another example of federal overreach into the nation's colleges and universities that will reduce access to higher education for millions of students, undercut efforts to re-energize the economy and, frankly, destroy jobs. Members testifying before the committee were: Honorable Joseph J. Heck, a Representative in Congress from the State of Nevada; Honorable John Kline, Committee on Education and the Workforce; and Honorable George Miller, senior Democratic member, Committee on Education. Witnesses testifying before the committee were: Catherine Barreto, graduate, Monroe College; Jeanne Herrmann, chief operating officer, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business; Travis Jennings, electrical test department supervisor, Orbital Sciences Corp., Launch Systems Group; and Arnold Mitchem, president, Council for Opportunity in Education. (Individual statements contain footnotes.)