For-Profit Colleges

Even though for-profit colleges may be poised to benefit under the Trump administration, they should not take a business-as-usual approach to their operations, argues Joseph R. D’Angelo.

By Joseph R. D'Angelo

Education Department officials say they will work through Jan. 20 to review claims of defrauded students, but borrowers and advocates call for more urgency.

Udacity and some boot camps offer money-back guarantees despite state bans on job-placement promises in higher education. But some say the offers are a form of risk sharing worth considering.

Graduates who earned certificates at public institutions have larger salaries, but there is wide variation between programs even at the same institutions.

Investors fret that the Education Department's lengthy scrutiny of the U of Phoenix's proposed sale means the deal might be nixed. Politics and optics might be reasons for the delay.

The Education Department said Friday it would restore Pell Grant eligibility for students whose education was interrupted by the closure of their institutions.

Campaign contributions from for-profit colleges continue to tilt heavily to Republicans. But the struggling sector's political giving is down since peaking in 2012.

Group of colleges releases voluntarily standards for competency-based education, which Education Department official says could help prevent the rise of bad actors.