Panelists: Thomas H. Howlett, Attorney, The Googasian Firm, P.C. Andy Jacob, Board Member, New Horizons Worldwide, Inc. Christopher Mullin, Program Director, Policy Analysis at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Ohio University in Athens

Moderator: Susan Dynarski, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education, University of Michigan

Sponsored by the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). EPI is a program of coordinated activities designed to bring the latest academic knowledge to issues of education policy.

For more information visit www.closup.umich.edu or call (734) 647-4091

ABSTRACT For-profit colleges are under fire. Critics point to students' low earnings and high debt loads as evidence that these schools do not provide a quality education. Defenders of the sector note that the schools serve a population of low-skilled, low-income students that traditional colleges ignore. Congress is now considering legislation that would bar from the federal aid programs any schools whose graduates' earnings fall below a minimum threshold. This panel promises to be a lively discussion of an important topic in public policy.