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Flurry of data as rules near for commercial colleges

As the United States Department of Education gets closer to issuing its final regulations on commercial colleges’ eligibility for the federal student aid that provides the bulk of their revenue, a flurry of new reports and litigation are being filed in advance of important policy decisions for the schools, reports the New York Times. “There’s obviously a great deal of political posturing and positioning taking place,” said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education. “The for-profits want to underscore the importance of the needy population they serve. Critics want to undermine the sector. It’s very hard to separate fact from fiction, given all that’s taken place.” On Feb. 3, the department issued new data showing that many commercial colleges leave large numbers of their graduates unable to pay back their loans. The data — covering all institutions of higher education — found that among students whose loans came due in 2008, 25 percent of those who attended commercial colleges defaulted within three years, compared with 10.8 percent at public institutions and 7.6 percent at private nonprofit colleges and universities…

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