Obama’s Sneaky Move on Education

April 21, 2010 18:14


Continuing to avoid legislation through regulation by unaccountable bureaucrats, Obama’s new government student loan program rules out some schools. Will yours be next?

By Jean Card – FOXNews.com


“We seek to help an additional five million Americans earn degrees and certificates in the next decade,” said President Obama in July 2009. However, looking at the policies his administration is proposing, it is starting to sound more like “We seek to help Americans earn degrees that we think are worth earning, as we see fit, under our micromanagement.”

First, thanks to the president’s health care law – not a separate education bill – the feds will now lend directly to students instead of guaranteeing bank loans as they have done, with good success, for 45 years. One can’t help but wonder: “With what money will the federal government make these loans? With money we borrow from China?” Which begs the question “Does China have enough money to finance education loans on top of government-run health care reform?”

And now there is more news on the Obama higher education agenda: Private sector institutions of higher education are in the crosshairs of federal loan program officials. And there is no bill, health care or otherwise, for this item. Instead, the Obama Education Department is doing what clever political appointees do best: adjusting regulations in order to change policy and skip that whole pesky legislative branch step.

The regulatory changes will make qualifying for a loan nearly impossible for tens of thousands of young adults who dare enroll in a school that, gasp, tries to make a profit. You needn’t worry if you are looking to enroll in a public school (i.e.: a state university or community college) or a private college (those are non-profits). But if you are seeking a vocational education, associate’s or bachelor’s degree from a school that runs itself more like a business, you might be in a tough spot very soon.

Most people know these for-profit schools as the ones that advertise on television. Their advertising targets a working class audience trying to improve their career choices. The schools’ programs encourage adults to pursue a degree, on their timeline and with their schedule, that will improve their life path in some way – primarily through the increased income that follows the earning of a degree. Programs range from certificates to bachelor’s degrees in subject areas ranging from nursing to business.

Sadly, Ivy League elites disdain these schools. They are somehow lesser in their eyes. They are “just” vocational schools, attended by people who don’t live in nice neighborhoods or drive Volvos.

FULL STORY



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