[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after reviewing the Department of Education’s new rule to ensure that vocational programs that receive aid dollars prepare students for “gainful employment.

“I am glad to see Secretary is willing to set standards for quality in education in for-profit schools,” said Durbin. “Defining gainful employment is a direct test of whether the for-profit education industry is fulfilling the role it claims for itself. If a students’ income after graduation cannot sustain the debt load they have taken on, the program will now face closer scrutiny."

“Today’s action by the Department of Education will definitely help rein in abuses in the for-profit college industry, but there is still work to be done. I am working with my colleagues in the Senate on legislation to ensure the for-profit education system protects taxpayers and puts the interests of students above profits.”

Under the new regulation, the Department would define whether a program successfully prepares students for gainful employment using a two-part test: measuring the relationship between the debt students incur and their incomes after program completion; and measuring the rate at which all enrollees, regardless of completion, repay their loans on time.