IRAE Testifies at U.S. Department of Education Hearing

March 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Institute for Regulatory Analysis and Engagement (IRAE), a non-partisan, academic public policy organization dedicated to assessing the impacts of proposed rules and other regulatory proceedings on individual economic sectors and the U.S. economy as a whole, recently testified at a U.S. Department of Education hearing reviewing new guidance focused on online program managers (OPMs) and their work with American colleges and universities.

IRAE Founder and Chairman Andrew Langer noted in his testimony that the Department’s new guidance would have significant negative impacts on the educational prospects of nontraditional students, undermining American competitiveness in the process.

“The Department of Education is flirting with monumental changes that would endanger the progress that’s been made through OPMs and put American higher education at a disadvantage to foreign competitors,” Langer said, adding that the Department has failed to provide data to justify its regulatory course of action.

IRAE’s testimony also underscored the fact that the Department’s new guidance would discourage innovation and investment in online education, harming student outcomes in the process. “Rather than pressing harmful regulatory overreach that weakens the overall system for students and schools alike,” Langer said, “the Department of Education should do more to encourage innovation that cultivates enrollment, reduces costs, and empowers students to reach their goals.”

IRAE also submitted formal comments to the Department of Education’s public docket registering opposition to the new slate of regulatory actions targeting online program managers.

To read the full comment letter, visit https://www.regulations.gov/comment/ED-2023-OPE-0030-0117.

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