DC Shuttle …
Borrower Defense Will Go Into Effect. The U.S. Department of Education said it would not seek further delay of borrower defense to repayment regulations, Inside Higher Ed reports. A federal judge’s ruling that struck down the Trump administration’s delay of Obama-era student loan regulations took effect Friday.
Administration Announces Accreditation and Innovation Panel. The Trump administration announced that it will begin accepting nominations for negotiators this week for a new panel to address higher education regulations. The Education Department is soliciting suggestions for the “Accreditation and Innovation” federal rulemaking panel for negotiators starting in January. The panel’s intention will be simplifying and scaling back regulations on accreditors and colleges and universities, especially religious institutions and those providing online classes. The department said that it will form three subcommittees composed of some voting members of the main committee as well as other non-voting experts, which will focus on distance learning and educational innovation, faith-based entities and TEACH Grants.
Student Loan Servicers File Claims Against Education Department. Last week, two student loan service providers filed protests with the GAO accusing the Education Department of unfair procurement practices. FMS Investment Corp. and Continental Service Group Inc. claim that the department improperly restricted competition by combining debt-collection services with other loan servicing without advance notice. The two companies are also in a dispute with the Education Department over contracts to collect defaulted federal student loans.
Democrats Ask DeVos to Investigate Career College. A group of Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), wrote a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asking the Education Department to investigate a chain of career colleges. The group of Democrats wants the department to look into the Center for Excellence in Higher Education, which was recently put on probation by its accreditor. Last month, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges put the college chain on probation claiming it had false advertising and had made false claims. The Center for Excellence in Higher Education has been in negotiations with the Trump administration over reversing the Obama administration’s rejection of its nonprofit status. The Education Department ruled in 2016 that the school qualified as a for-profit college under federal education rules.
We publish the DC Shuttle each week featuring higher ed news from Washington collected by the New England Council, of which NEBHE is a member. This edition is drawn from the Higher Education Update in the Council’s Weekly Washington Report of Oct. 15, 2018. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.
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