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The U.S. Department of Education says it wants to protect students from colleges and universities that claim they are better than they are, so it's created a new office to do that. NPR's Cory Turner explains.
CORY TURNER, BYLINE: It's called the Federal Student Aid Enforcement Unit. Earlier today, over a scratchy phone line, acting Education Secretary John B. King, Jr. explained that when Americans invest their time and money in higher ed -
JOHN B. KING JR.: They have a right to expect they'll actually get an education that leads to a better life for them and their family.
TURNER: When that doesn't happen, King said, we all pay the price. On the list of things the new unit will be looking out for is misleading marketing, where a school inflates its graduation rate or the employment prospects of its graduates. The group will be led by Robert Kaye, an experienced consumer protection lawyer who spent many years at the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC recently filed suit against DeVry University, alleging it painted an all-too-rosy picture of its students' job placement rates and salaries after graduation, an allegation DeVry says it will vigorously contest. Cory Turner, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
