Hmm Interesting found this article about Excelsior College

[marianne202]

My understanding of the Dept of Education changes is that they are getting too many complaints about for-profit schools offering degrees that are not accepted by other schools or employers, as well as charging way to much for these useless degrees. Yes, any education is good, but if you are promised a degree you can use to get a job, licensing or move into an advanced degree only to find out that they huge sum of money you spent was a waste and you have to start over, is a scam! We have a lot of these private schools all over the country doing just this. Those of us here are more educated about accreditation, transfer acceptance and fees, but most people are not. How many here have seen a for-profit school website indicate they are accredited, only to find out it is an obscure accreditation and nothing that an RA school will accept. These schools are taking FA from students and earning a quick buck, without given them anything valuable in return. This is very, very sad. Especially, with FA starting to get stricter, students need to be sure they are getting what they thing they are getting. Knowledge is key, but since everyone can't be as smart us those of us here, the DOE is trying to help level the playing field. I know my local schools don't run fancy TV ads like U of P, Walden, Capella etc. So students don't always know about their options. I have even heard the new FA guidelines may start to restrict FA to only RA schools or specialty schools like culinary schools etc. This is what we are hearing at the CC level from lawmakers. This may not be right or fair for NA accredited schools but the govt needs to be accountable for where all the FA money is being spent and that means it has to be spent in viable areas meaning legitimate degrees from legitimate schools. This may make more schools work to obtain RA accreditation or make them shut their doors. But I know the horror stories I hear almost daily from students means something needs done about this situation. I'm glad the government is stepping up to the plate and trying to resolve the situation and protect students and our federal money. Now if they will just address issue of FA abuse! I'm sick of people who live on FA for years and years without ever obtaining a degree or intending to obtain a degree, it is just their income along with other social service money. While students that need it can't get it. The FA system is broken and these are just the beginning steps to fix an age old problem. I expect to see many more changes in the coming years.