More Regulation for Private Sector Higher Education?

James Hall / July 14, 2010

“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.” This is the government’s view of the economy, according to the late President Reagan. The Department of Education (DOE) is clearly using this flawed approach as it pursues regulation of the highly successful for-profit university system.

Higher education enrollment increased by 31 percent from 1998 to 2008. During this same period, enrollment at for-profit schools, such as DeVry University and the University of Phoenix, rose a staggering 225 percent. These schools are meeting market demand by offering working adults and low-income individuals the opportunity to receive an education often unavailable to them through traditional higher education institutions. During a recent Senate hearing addressing oversight for for-profit colleges, Senator Tom Harkin (D–IA) said: (more…)