In an interview Tuesday on Bloomberg TV’s “In the Loop With Betty Liu,” Career College Association President Harris Miller discussed the current state of student loans at for-profit colleges. Following the U.S. Department of Education’s release of data last week on loan repayment rates at private sector schools across the country, Miller stressed the need to really understand the data before moving forward. He also highlighted the importance of focusing on the larger picture – why is the Department of Education going to cut access to hundreds of thousands of students?

I agree with President Miller. Understanding the data and its implications is a point I have argued before in this blog.  Yes, student debt is a problem, but it should not lead us to deprive some groups of students of their right to an education, nor should it lead us to risk becoming an even less competitive country in terms of graduation rates from colleges and universities.  If the goal of the Department of Education is to resolve the problem of growing student debt, it has far more analysis and examination to do in order to solve the problem.