Proprietary Schools: Millions Spent to Train Students for Oversupplied Occupations
HEHS-97-104
Published: Jun 10, 1997. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 1997.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined the extent to which Higher Education Act title IV funds finance proprietary school training in fields with insufficient job demand, focusing on: (1) title IV money spent to train proprietary school students for occupations with a surplus of trained individuals; (2) ways government-sponsored training programs use labor market information to target training funds toward fields with promising employment outcomes; and (3) the merits of using labor market information to target training funds.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| The Congress should expand the Student Right-to-Know Act to require proprietary schools to report recent graduates' training-related job placement rates. The act currently requires all title IV-eligible schools to report student completion rates but not graduates' employment experiences. Such information would help prospective students understand the usefulness of recent graduates' occupational training programs. | This recommendation was not addressed in the Higher Education Amendments sent to conference. The requestor does not anticipate introducing legislation time to implement the recommendation. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | The Secretary of Education should identify and take appropriate action to ensure that prospective proprietary school students have access to employment and earnings projections relevant to their chosen training field and local area. |
The Department of Education included provisions implementing this recommendation in a reauthorization proposal submitted to Congress. Education believes that, without legislative authority, it cannot act further to implement this recommendation.
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Direct loansEducational grantsHigher educationNoncomplianceProgram abusesProprietary schoolsStudent financial aidStudent loansVocational educationStudents