"The Topic: What college programs are worth the money –
Why It Matters: New figures show that some graduates of public colleges and universities make near-poverty wages." …
http://hechingerreport.org/bid-show-colleges-worth-money-reveals-surprises/
Interesting article - I hadn’t heard of the gainful employment rule, but it seems potentially dangerous if definitions are not clear. I’m thinking of instances where someone studies a “bridge” discipline - something that they went into with the explicit intention of continuing their education. For example, maybe I want to get an associate’s degree in a low-paying nursing discipline because I want a lower cost option for my first two years, even though my ultimate goal is to get a BSN. Would this rule potentially restrict funding for the Associate’s Degree, or is it nuanced enough to recognize the purpose of that phase of education?
Different possibility - I get a Fine Arts degree from a four-year university because I am interested in arts law and intend to go to law school within a year of graduating. That could be a double-whammy - if people get a certain degree with the intent of pursuing a terminal degree later on, they could drive already-low wages even lower, since they are more willing to accept low pay for 6-12 months, knowing they will just move on.