Resolution in Support of Private Sector Colleges and Universities

Resolution in Support of Private Sector Colleges and Universities

WHEREAS, private sector colleges enroll nearly 2.6 million students in the United States and comprise 42 percent of the 6,667 Title-IV eligible postsecondary institutions; and

WHEREAS, private sector colleges serve a diverse group of students and enroll a higher percentage of minorities—40 percent compared to 32 percent at public and 22 percent at private non-profit institutions; and

WHEREAS, twenty-four percent of all African-American students and 18 percent of all Hispanic students who received Associate degrees in 2008–2009 earned them at a private sector college; and

WHEREAS, private sector colleges enroll a much smaller number of students (10 percent) than do private not-for-profit (17 percent) and public institutions, they account for a disproportionate percentage of graduates in key fields, including: 42 percent of health care degrees and certificates conferred at two-year and less than two-year institutions; and 14 percent of health care degrees and certificates at four-year or more institutions; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Education continues to consider rules that may adversely impact hundreds of thousands of students attending private sector colleges and universities and are antithetical to the President’s goal of the United States once again having the highest proportion of colleges graduates in the world by 2020;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the State of [STATE] supports the goal of increasing the number of college graduates among American students; that laws and regulations promulgated should promote fair and equal access to all sectors of higher education; and that career aspirations should be a matter of choice for those pursuing a higher education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT copies of this Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the appropriate leadership of the United States Department of Education.