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<DIV class=left><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/"><IMG border=0 hspace=0
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<DIV class=timestamp>May 11, 2011</DIV>
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<H1><NYT_HEADLINE type=" " version="1.0">Education Is the Last Thing on Their
Minds</NYT_HEADLINE></H1><NYT_BYLINE></NYT_BYLINE><NYT_TEXT>
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<P>The for-profit education industry complained of excessive regulation last
fall when the Obama administration issued new rules intended to curb abuses at
profit-making colleges and trade schools. But lawsuits brought by
whistle-blowers with firsthand knowledge of the industry make a strong case for
why tough rules are needed. </P>
<P>Earlier this month, the Justice Department took the unusual step of joining a
lawsuit brought by former employees of the Education Management Corporation, one
of the largest for-profit college companies in the country. The employees
charged that the company knowingly defrauded the government by illegally paying
recruiters based on the number of students they enroll. </P>
<P>The court papers describe a “boiler room” atmosphere in which recruiters
enrolled students who stood no chance of graduating and saddled them with debt
they were unlikely to be able to pay off. They say the academic requirements
laid out in Education Management’s advertisements were a sham and that the
company accepted all students who completed applications and submitted 150-word
essays. </P>
<P>The former employees also charge that students who declined to enroll because
their financial aid packages were too small were sometimes pressed to convert to
part-time studies. They were then given refunds but were not told that the
proceeds were from loans that they were obligated to repay. The plaintiffs claim
large numbers of students who enrolled in Education Management schools dropped
out, probably after incurring debt from loans. </P>
<P>Despite these claims, and other revelations, the industry is continuing to
press Congress to roll back government regulation. It is pushing particularly
hard against a new rule that would cut off federal education aid to programs
whose graduates end up saddled with debt that they have little hope of ever
repaying. </P>
<P>Instead of protecting the industry, lawmakers should be looking out for
constituents who have been ripped off by unscrupulous schools and for the
taxpayers who foot the bills for both student aid and loan defaults.
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size=2>____________________________________________<BR>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009
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