Critics of for-profit colleges were disappointed by the final "gainful employment" regulations. They said the Obama administration caved to industry pressure and put out a watered-down, inadequate set of rules.
The U.S. Department of Education calls that narrative "misleading." The department said the regulations are strong, legally sound and will protect students from underperforming academic programs.
An estimated 1,400 programs would fail under the gainful employment regime, 99 percent of them at for-profits. In comparison, a previous iteration of the regulations, which a federal judge largely halted in 2012, would have snared just 193 programs.
"Objectively speaking, it’s a tougher rule," a department official said Thursday.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/31/obama-administration-has-helped-weaken-and-change-profit-industry