by Ben Miller

Federal student aid is a deal between taxpayers, students, and institutions. When students don’t keep up their end of the bargain, the federal government hits them hard—wrecking their credit, docking their wages, or seizing their tax refunds or Social Security checks. But there’s almost no accountability when colleges break their promises or repeatedly fail to educate their students.

Although thousands of institutions deliver on the American dream by leading students into the middle class, the U.S. accountability system does not do enough for students traditionally underserved by postsecondary education.