And you moderates thought the government only had designs on healthcare, banking and the auto industry? You can now add higher-ed to that ever-lengthening list. Last month, I blogged on why the federalization of student aid was bad and how the administration planned to shoehorn the legislation onto the healthcare bill. Well Obamacare passed. (The higher-ed bill was actually tucked into the healthcare reconciliation bill). The administration goal for higher education is the same as it is for healthcare: make the federal government the single payer-provider for both. Now the fun starts.
In an interesting article in yesterday’s National Review Online, Stephen Spruiell chronicles the administration’s quest to make sure For-Profit colleges — who have benefitted from the massive infusions of federal student aid and earned the ire of the left– are brought to heel under the whim and wallet of federal bureaucrats. Most eye-popping are some potential new regulations intended the for-profit colleges. Spruuiell writes:
New rules under discussion at the Department of Education would link a for-profit school’s eligibility for federal funds to its graduates’ debt loads as a percentage of the average starting salaries in their chosen fields, an arbitrary measure that the schools say would restrict their course offerings to just a few programs. Other measures being considered would link eligibility to a 70 percent program-completion rate and 70 percent in-field placement rate after graduation — standards the administration would never dream of requiring of traditional universities. (Imagine the Department of Education telling Big State U that 70 percent of its “peace studies” grads must be placed “in field” or it will lose federal funding for the program.)
Any doubts about the Obama administration’s hatred for the private sector? Now you know why many conservatives are leery about all the salivating over Federal Race-To-The-Top funds.
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