A Wrong Approach To Student Loan Debt

Career College Central Summary:

Dr. Kenneth Lloyd “Ken” Coon, Sr. was the 15th director of the Employment Security Division (now the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services):
- As the former director of the Arkansas Employment Security Division (now the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services), and a professor of human resources development for Webster University, I have long been an advocate for higher education, and specifically the need for career-focused education and workforce training programs.
- Arkansas is fortunate to have a diverse group of institutions of higher education that meet the needs of our citizens across the socio-economic spectrum, including four-year colleges and universities, technical schools, community colleges, and for-profit career focused schools.
- There is no question that higher educational achievement – in the form of a college degree, associates degree, or training certificate – is paramount in boosting long-term employment prospects for students of all ages, and improving quality of life for themselves and their families.
- Providing educational access for lower-income and minority students is of particular importance in that regard, as educational achievement among these students tends to lag well behind the average rate.
- In fact, The Lumina Foundation recently reported degree-attainment rates for African American students in Arkansas at 20.79%, with Hispanic students even further behind at 12.84% – both of which are unacceptable figures that need to be vastly improved.
- Unfortunately, however, it appears that the Obama Administration and the U.S. Department of Education may soon implement new regulations that could have a chilling effect on career-focused schools and the students that rely on them for their education.
- The “Gainful Employment Regulation” (GER) currently under consideration, narrowly targets nontraditional, career-focused schools, seeking to protect students from onerous student loan payments.

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THE CITY WIRE