The Spectacle Blog
Over the past several years, the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce has worked to support and strengthen businesses in the African American community. A key part of that effort has been cultivating tomorrow’s talent by ensuring that young people get the 21st Century education and training that businesses require of their employees. This is a key measure in our Youth Ambassador Program.
But these efforts are now in danger as a result of a proposal being floated by the Obama Administration that will in all likelihood make it more difficult for African American students to enroll in the universities that specialize in vocational training.
Specifically, the administration is advancing an initiative called “gainful employment” that would require that a new, arbitrary debt-to-income ratio test be applied only to degree programs at career colleges and universities as a condition of theirstudents’ eligibility for Federal loans.
The initiative would not apply to other sectors of higher education. Career schools play a seminal role in the education of minority students, and they would be disproportionately impacted if the “gainful employment” proposal becomes official policy.
In 2008-09, over six times as many minority students graduated with degrees or certificates from career colleges (236,228) as graduated from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (37,229). In fact, 36 percent of degrees conferred at career colleges and universities were awarded to minorities, compared to 26 percent at public and 22 percent at private, not-for-profit institutions. In addition, 43 percent of the approximately 3.2 million students in America who attend career schools are minority students, and nearly half are first-generation college students.
Removing federal financial support for students attending career colleges and universities will significantly curtail educational options for African American students. Compounding the situation, the “gainful employment” rule will hurt the quality of the labor pool available to America’s businesses given the role these schools play in training tomorrow’s workers. It is important to understand that minority-owned businesses are a critical growth segment of our economy.
If this proposal is adopted, it will impede the ability of thousands of minority and low-income students to earn a degree of their choosing and to fulfill dreams of professional success. If these students are unable to fulfill their dreams, there will not be a new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders to drive our economy to greater vitality.
We are in complete agreement with the leadership at the National Black Chamber of Commerce. We agree that the “gainful employment” rule would cease Federal student loans for those matriculating through for profit colleges. This would have a terrible impact on our future workforce. We now find that the main instigators of this proposal are the Wall Street short sellers. One of the short sellers even gave a speech entitled “Sub-prime goes to College” revealing how they are attempting to manipulate the U.S. Department of Education.
President Obama has called for a renewed investment in higher education to meet a new goal: five million more college graduates by 2020. We know the value of a strong educational foundation and know that access to a broad array of educational choices is consistent withrealizing this critically important goal.
The “gainful employment” proposal would limit the educational options available to students, making it harder for them to get the tools they will need to flourish in the workforce.
Ruben Hopkins is the President/CEO of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
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http://spectator.org/blog/2011/02/18/withdrawing-gainful-employment
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Michael Richardson| 2.18.11 @ 8:36PM
It looks to me that this Gainful Employment amendment is setting up President Obama and the White House to take a fall by exposing their ties to Wall Street. Wall Street short-seller Steve Eisman is in the middle of gainful employment (see: http://www.politico.com/news/s.....48695.html).
Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was an investment banker and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett has hidden her Wall Street ties. Jarrett was involved with the Harris Investment Fund which engaged in short selling and derivatives. http://peureport.blogspot.com/.....hite.html.
Wall Street and our kids’ education do not jive – I don’t want these people gambling our children’s future and selling to the lowest bidder.
Alan Brooks| 2.20.11 @ 11:47PM
I say end Affirmative Action except for blacks and women-- they are treated as second class citizens in every nation.
PattyMor| 2.19.11 @ 2:47PM
Remember in the good old days, when people paid for education themselves or by getting scholarships. Since the federal gov'ment has been involved, tuition has skyrocket. But, Barack doesn't mention anything about all those "greedy" college administrators.
Larry Sheldon | 2.19.11 @ 3:55PM
Some time he just doesn't make any sense at all.
Why does he want to shut blacks out?
jrs| 2.20.11 @ 2:35AM
Actually, the gainful employment act makes sense. Do a little google search, and you'll find that gainful employment is targeted at "for profit" schools. While capitalism is great for many things, one thing it doesn't seem so great at (at least in the explicit sense, there surely are many market forces in higher education) is for profit higher education. In almost all cases, for profit education delivers an inferior product at at higher price. This seems counterintuitive as a well functioning marketplace would surely correct this, right? Wrong, for the same reasons that housing took so long to correct; government interference. While I think the government does have an important role in supporting student loans (although, the method should be reevaluated as it surely plays a part in tuition inflation), these loans distort the market. Most of the consumers are amongst the poorest, least intelligent and most vulnerable. These schools target market the vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, these corporations aren't just stealing their money, their stealing our money since the vast majority of this training is paid for by federal loans. Since for profit students have significantly higher levels of default, it's ultimately the taxpayer who is on the hook. College isn't for everyone and we need to direct a higher level towards trade education, but an education that is affordable and delivers results.
Oldefarte| 2.20.11 @ 10:24AM
Great editorial and comments, but I think that ALL EDUCATION [career, public, private] funding [either loans or grants] by government needs to be revised. This money is simply provided to too many students with inferior intellectual potential simply due to POLITICAL CORRECTNESS and REVERSE RACISM. An examination of the documentation/records of these loans/grants [and their corresponding school/acedemic records] would reveal that many of this money is going to minority students for partisaned/political correctness reasons only, and who do not possess the adequate educational background qualifications for same. My suggestion would be that this money [and students] should in many cases be redirected toward TRADE SCHOOLS that would educate these intelligently defecient students in the arts of plumbing, carpentry, elelctrical wiring, etc that would intentially enable them to earn their own financial support in life. We historically and current simply have too many ARTSY-FARTSY liberal arts college graduates running around that are adept at quoting history and Shakespere, but are functionally illerate at required employment skills needed!!!!!!!!
kanaram kumawat| 1.26.12 @ 4:56AM
good information about edocation