SEIU submitted comments on proposed gainful employment regulation and how oversight of for-profit postsecondary institutions can be strengthened to the Department of Education (DOE) this week. In a letter Education Secretary Arne Duncan, SEIU said, “This is an important issue for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU represents 2.1 million workers, many of whom, like our 700,000 childcare and homecare providers, use online schools and occupational programs to obtain the certificates and degrees necessary for their professions. In addition, SEIU represents over 21,000 adjunct professors who are an important voice for higher education, as adjuncts are responsible for teaching a majority of classes in higher education today. As instructors, recommenders, and mentors, we have a special relationship with our students, so it is important to us that our students are receiving the highest quality education possible.

Increasing oversight of these institutions will make them a safer and more valuable option for our members, our students, and the thousands of current and prospective students across the nation seeking to further their education.”

To read SEIU’s comments in their entirety, click here. To see an accompanying petition that was delivered to the DOE calling on it to rein in the poorest performing programs that burden students with high levels of debt without adequately preparing them to succeed in the workplace, click here.