The Department Of Education Can’t Even Count

Career College Central Summary:

The department is instead “spending our time having conversations and crafting a rule that will best serve students,” a spokesman from the department said on background in an email to Watchdog.org.
The department spokesman confirmed staff received “less than 100,000 comments this go-around.”
Advocates worry the department’s opaque treatment of these comments is not only a transparency issue, but a disservice to the rule-making process.
“The word ‘public comment’ means ‘public comment,’” said Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.
“People have the right to know the intensity with which people are commenting on things.”
The Institute for Liberty submitted 10,000 comments to the department.
Releasing the number of comments would send “a clear signal to Congress that there is tremendous public interest in these issues,” said Andrew Langer, president of the institute.
“If the public feels strongly enough about agency actions to send tens of thousands of letters, then perhaps it signals to Congress that they need to weigh in,” he said.
The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities stated that over 57,000 comments sector-wide were submitted to the department.
“We hope the department carefully reviews and considers the input and concerns of those impacted by the regulation,” said Noah Black, vice president of communications at APSCU.
“To date, this is something that has been missing from the regulatory process.” The proposed rule has become controversial because of the impact it would have on for-profit institutions.