MADISON, Wis. (Wheeler News Service) — The next state budget will not include the demise of a long-running state board that regulates for-profit colleges. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. G-O-P Finance co-chair John Nygren said it would be better to deal with the issue in a separate bill that’s now winding its way through the Assembly.
Governor Scott Walker wanted to bring an end to the 71-year-old Educational Approval Board, which authorizes for-profit colleges and handles student complaints. He said the state consumer protection agency is a better place to handle complaints.
The budget would have authorized for-profit schools only if they need the state’s blessing to get federal funds. The governor’s office said eliminating the board would cut government red tape and financial burdens for those schools. Opponents said it would allow the worst schools to unfairly spread a bad image to all for-profit colleges.
Also today, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee was scheduled to act on several other notable budget items. One would spend an extra 37-million dollars over the next two years, to provide job training for Food-Share recipients as required in a law passed last session. The panel was also scheduled to act on Walker’s plan to eliminate a century-old state program that provides property insurance for most local governments. Walker says they should look to the private sector for that coverage.