A for-profit college may convert to nonprofit status for a variety of reasons, such as wanting to align its status and mission. However, in some cases, former owners or other insiders could improperly benefit from the conversion, which is impermissible under the Internal Revenue Code and Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. This…

This report is in a series examining the troubled history of for-profit higher education, from the problems that plagued the post-World War II GI Bill to the reform efforts undertaken by the George H. W. Bush administration to the regulatory relapse under George W. Bush. From President Dwight Eisenhower to President George H. W. Bush, Republican…

The student loan crisis has become a buzz topic that presidential candidates frequently discuss in debates and town halls. Today, accumulated student loan debt equals $1.6 trillion, exceeding total accumulated car loans and credit card debt. What makes this a crisis is the fact that approximately 22 percent of student loan borrowers default on…

This brief is intended as an evidence-based guide for policy analysts and decision makers to inform critical areas in the Higher Education Authorization Act related to racial justice. Our recommendations prioritize combating systemic racism in higher education with a particular focus on disrupting anti-Blackness, though several sections focus on…

The proposed College Affordability Act calls for a massive uptick in federal spending on higher education and increased access to federal student aid (which has been shown to inflate tuition), while easing the criteria for federal loan forgiveness, leaving the bill to American taxpayers. Americans need solutions that will drive down the price of…

A long overdue, much needed transformation is underway in the higher education system. It started a decade ago, when federal and state policy­makers first began to collect data on what students earn after pursuing a postsecondary education. But new data are fundamentally differ­ent. Unlike broad-based national statistics, such as how much someone…

The National Association of Scholars believes that higher education should gather scholars and students to cultivate excellence and pursue the truth, transmit the heritage of Western civilization to a new generation, prepare cultured and virtuous citizens, and train students for vocational success. American colleges and universities should embody…

The federal government's role in supporting higher education touches nearly every aspect of the work performed by American colleges and universities. Federal authorities control an immense amount of public resources that are used to strategically exert influence across a complex and differentiated postsecondary system. This report is intended to…

Researchers Barbara Gault, Elizabeth Noll, and Lindsey Reichlin, from the Institute for Women's Policy Research (DC), assess the unique needs of community college students who are also parents. The majority of students with children attend community college. Single parents, the majority of whom are mothers, are more likely to work fulltime and…

For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest-growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools, many of them big national chains, derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they…

This "First Look" presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) spring 2011 data collection. This collection included five components: Student Financial Aid for the 2009-10 academic year; Enrollment for fall 2010; Graduation Rates within 150 percent of normal program completion time for full-time,…

This "First Look" presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) spring 2010 data collection. This collection included five components: Student Financial Aid for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2009-10 academic year; Enrollment for fall 2009; Graduation…

It took five years, dozens of drafts, and a total of 14 extensions, but Congress last week was finally on the verge of passing a bill to renew the Higher Education Act, the major law governing federal student aid. The bill, after approval by the U.S. House of Representatives, was headed to the Senate, where a final vote was planned for late last…

The author discusses the impact of the reauthorized Higher Education Act on financial aid, especially as it applies to proprietary schools. He suggests ways that such schools' administrators can update themselves on this topic. (CH)

Creating separate student-aid programs for the proprietary and nonprofit sectors of higher education will be one of the most bitterly debated issues in the upcoming reauthorization of higher education law. A major point of contention is the matter of hugely disproportionate default rates among students in the different sectors. (MLW)