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The Effect of the Gainful Employment Regulatory Uncertainty on Student Enrollment at For-Profit Institutions of Higher Education

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  • Joselynn Hawkins Fountain

    (Congressional Research Service)

Abstract

In 2010, the Obama Administration proposed new regulations designed to hold institutions of higher education (IHEs) accountable for student outcomes. I examine the effects of the regulatory uncertainty surrounding these “Gainful Employment” (GE) regulations on enrollment at for-profit IHEs. I utilize informational debt rates of GE institutions along with enrollment data from the integrated postsecondary education data system to employ a difference in difference design that compares enrollment before and after the GE regulatory proposal at for-profit IHEs to enrollment at public and nonprofit IHEs. My results suggest that for-profit IHEs experienced slower enrollment growth relative to public and nonprofit IHEs in the post-GE period. Additionally, enrollment of low-income students appeared to be disproportionately affected by the GE regulatory uncertainty.

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  • Joselynn Hawkins Fountain, 2019. "The Effect of the Gainful Employment Regulatory Uncertainty on Student Enrollment at For-Profit Institutions of Higher Education," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 60(8), pages 1065-1089, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:60:y:2019:i:8:d:10.1007_s11162-018-9533-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11162-018-9533-z
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    Cited by:

    1. John J. Cheslock & Ozan Jaquette, 2022. "Concentrated or Fragmented? The U.S. Market for Online Higher Education," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(1), pages 33-59, February.
    2. Zachary G. Davis, 2023. "Unbundling For-Profit Higher Education: Relaxing the 90/10 Revenue Constraint," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 49(2), pages 176-200, April.
    3. Yuqing Geng & Nan Zhao, 2020. "Measurement of sustainable higher education development: Evidence from China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, June.

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