A group of six Senate Democrats on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to step up its oversight of the financial health of for-profit colleges, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
In a letter to White House and U.S. Education Department officials, the senators, led by Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Dick Durbin of Illinois, said that they were trying to prevent the recent catastrophe of Corinthian Colleges Inc. from repeating itself at another institution. The lawmakers criticized the department's claim that it was surprised by the precariousness of Corinthian Colleges, which announced it was on the verge of collapse in June, after the department froze its financial aid revenue for 21 days. That action later prompted an agreement between Corinthian and the department to sell 85 of the company's campuses in the United States and close down the remaining 12.
The letter, also signed by Sens. Kay R. Hagan of North Carolina, Chris S. Murphy of Connecticut, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Brian E. Schatz of Hawaii, asked the administration to answer questions about its tools for monitoring the solvency of for-profit chains.
Related Links
U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Press Release
http://www.help.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=9d879908-fa77-498f-97b4-a7ac4d02bde5&groups=Chair
The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/6-senate-democrats-call-for-stricter-oversight-of-for-profit-colleges-finances/83341