US Education Department drops plans to tighten rules on for-profit colleges

The US Education Department has stopped its effort to create new rules for how colleges handle student aid money, how states authorize schools, and how accreditors oversee them. This means that for-profit colleges will not face stricter oversight on these issues, at least for now.

For-profit colleges have faced scrutiny for years over how they manage federal student aid and the quality of their programs. Tighter rules would have forced many of them to change their business practices or risk losing access to federal funding. This decision means the existing, looser rules will remain in place, allowing these institutions to continue operating as they have been.