President Obama wants the United States to have the world's highest rate of college graduates. But his administration also wants stronger rules for colleges that operate for profit.

Career colleges receive billions of dollars from taxpayers through student loans. The Education Department says some of that goes to waste and leaves students in debt for educations of little or no value.

To receive federal aid, career colleges must prepare students for what the law calls "gainful employment" in a recognized occupation. Two tests are proposed to see if they do.

Enrollment at for-profit colleges and trade schools has tripled in the last decade to about 1.8 million, or nearly 10 percent of the nation's higher education students. These schools, partly because they serve poorer students who need more support, receive almost a quarter of the federal aid. This year, federal financing for financial aid is expected to total $145 billion.

Some for-profits provide an important service for students who don't qualify academically for traditional colleges. Too many have been cited for enrolling students who have no chance of graduating and tossing them out once that flow of aid is exhausted.

Crediting "a slight tailwind from the economy" with driving increased undergraduate enrollment, Capella Education Co. officials are reporting a 32 percent jump in total enrollment to nearly 39,000 students.

That, in turn, drove 31 percent revenue growth to $105.2 million for the second quarter, compared with a year ago, for its wholly owned online subsidiary, Capella University.

Better-than-expected revenue performance -- paired with a positive earnings surprise of $14.6 million, up 54 percent, or 86 cents a share -- fueled Capella stock to close the day at $94.56. That's up $3.48, or 3.82 percent, on 446,000 shares trades, more than twice the daily average.