How ISPA Members Can Help:
Educate and Advocate
ISPA members can make a difference and
help Congress to rethink this regulation.
The first step is to become informed
about the regulations and engage with
members of Congress to ensure they have
an accurate understanding of what is at
risk from an economic and employment
perspective.
As background, it is helpful to understand the different types of higher
education in America. Harvard University
opened in 1636 as an institute of higher
education to train future ministers. As
the young nation grew, more universities
opened offering an array of educational
programs. The federal government gifted
land to states, establishing a system of
“land grant” universities like San Diego
State and Colorado State. These public
universities continue to be funded by
state and federal government coffers, with
just 21 percent of their operating budgets
derived from tuition revenues.
Trade schools are frequently referred to
as “private for-profit” schools and were
created to provide education for indemand careers across a breadth of
vocations, including beauty and wellness.
In contrast to state-funded universities,
tuition at private for-profit schools covers
91 percent of operating costs. Private
school owners invest their own resources
in the infrastructure and curriculum
necessary tools to educate students.
Gainful Employment and Access
to Federal Funds
The regulation titled “Gainful
Employment” applies only to private forprofit institutions offering career education
and certificate programs at community
colleges. Under this regulation, students’
access to federal funds is determined
based on their projected earnings the first
year following their educational program’s
completion.
Such a short-sighted approach will not
only fail to address the nation’s student
debt concerns, but will create a shortage
of professionals who can deliver indemand services. The Great Recession
proved that in good times and bad,
Americans seek out services performed by
beauty and wellness professionals. “These
service-related occupations are performed
by licensed professionals who cannot and
will not be replaced by technology or have
their jobs outsourced overseas,” says Steve
Gunderson, president and CEO of the
Association of Private Sector Colleges and
Universities (APSCU).
“ISPA members can
make a difference
and help Congress
rethink [the Gainful
Employment]
regulation.”
The decrease will exacerbate an
employment challenge that beauty and
wellness professionals are already struggling to address. “The nation currently
faces a shortage of licensed professionals
required to enable salons and spas to
operate at their peak and the demand for
properly educated and licensed professionals is growing,” says Jim Cox,
executive director of the American
Association of Cosmetology Schools.
A Window of Opportunity
The regulations developed by the DOE
have the potential to significantly reduce
the number of institutions preparing
licensed professionals to meet the
industry’s workforce needs and they could
be implemented by the end of 2016.
However, the good news is that Congress
has the authority to repeal or modify the
regulations through revisions to the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).
As part of a process called reauthorization, which takes place every five to
six years, the House and Senate Education
Committees will begin to review the
higher education policies and make
revisions to the law, which in turn impact
the regulations.
As part of this reauthorization process,
AACS is calling upon Congress and the
Education Committees to protect what
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
suggests is a growing component of the
U.S. economy. Over a 10-year period, job
demand is projected to grow 38 percent
for skin-care specialists, 16 percent for
manicurists and pedicurists, 13 percent for
hairstylists, and 11 percent for barbers.
While school owners will certainly be
affected, it is vitally important that policy
makers take a broader, holistic view of the
impact these changes would inflict on the
industry. To facilitate revision to these
regulations, AACS is seeking support from
the broader beauty and wellness
community, and is requesting that professionals, employers and organizations like
ISPA join efforts to educate and advocate
for changes to the law that will protect
the spa and salon sector from unintended
consequences.
Throughout 2016, AACS will develop
short, concise, advocacy campaigns
calling upon the professional beauty and
wellness community to notify Senators
and Representatives of the need to protect
the collective interests of the entire
community. We are grateful to ISPA and
its members for helping preserve the
educational pipeline that fills employers’
employment demands. n
HOW CAN THE SPA COMMUNITY HELP fight the
"Gainful Employment" regulations? Click here to find
ways to get involved.
March/April 2016
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