4 questions for-profit colleges face in 2022

Higher Ed Dive

Natalie Schwartz

January 21, 2022

How will for-profit colleges face hurdles like stricter regulations and enrollment challenges? Can the sector avoid being cut out of any Pell Grant increase?

For-profit colleges appear to have a tough road ahead in 2022, with stricter regulations and other challenges likely coming down the pike.

Some tailwinds appear to have turned into headwinds. Although for-profit colleges saw an enrollment boom during the pandemic’s first year, new enrollment figures show that trend didn’t carry over into 2021.

The U.S. Department of Education is also poised to carry out President Joe Biden’s promised crackdown on the sector after laying groundwork during his first year in office, when pandemic-related relief for colleges grabbed headlines.

The Education Department kicked off 2022 by conducting negotiated rulemaking, in which the agency convenes a group of stakeholders to offer recommendations on new regulations before they’re issued. Ed Department officials are discussing a host of issues that could heavily impact the for-profit sector, including rules with potential to influence which students colleges recruit and whether their programs are eligible for federal funding.

Below, we rounded up and answered four questions that are top of mind for the proprietary sector in 2022.

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