In earlier iterations, debated through months of negotiations involving federal officials and a variety of higher education stakeholders, the department had proposed establishing a maximum permissible ratio of the loan debt-to-income ratio for graduates of most programs offered by for-profit colleges. But in the wake of significant pushback from some members of Congress and various voices within higher education, and a demand from the White House Office of Management and Budget for more evidence to support the proposal, the department has chosen to hold off on proposing a specific "metric" to measure whether programs are preparing their students for gainful employment because “we want to get it right,” as Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement.
Department officials say they expect to release the rest of the gainful
