Indian- American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with senators Jeff Merkley and Dick Durbin introduced legislation to protect students from predatory for-profit college schemes by ending federal financial aid for unaccredited degree programs, a news release from his office stated.
The Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act of 2023 aims to ensure that students receive the quality education and meaningful career opportunities and are prevented from wasting their financial resources on degrees that offer no professional benefit.
Commenting on the proposed legislation, Krishnamoorthi said, “Even as American students spend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy to obtain a college degree, many complete their program only to learn that they lack the prerequisites to start their career.Our legislation will ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to programs that fulfill their commitments to their students while cutting off funding for higher education institutions that offer inadequate or predatory programs.”
According to Senator Merkley, “Higher education should be a path to the American Dream, but that dream is shattered if students graduate with worthless degrees and mountains of debt.”
“Our bill protects students from these for-profit college scams by prohibiting federal student aid dollars from going to programs that don’t meet the professional licensure requirements and leave students with mountains of debt and no job prospects,” Senator Durbin emphasized.
The legislation is endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), and the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients).
