The Professional Beauty Association’s Government Affairs Team has issued a request for urgent action after the Department of Education determined Cosmetology is a “low value program.”
The Gainful Employment Rule from the Department of Education has measured the debt of loans to income after graduating school and subsequently deemed cosmetology as one of the lowest value programs.
The concept behind gainful employment is to judge career training programs on how much debt their students take on compared to the income that they go on to earn. This proposed rule would make beauty schools ineligible to offer financial aid, potentially harming the student who chooses to pursue a career in beauty and wellness.
Although the Professional Beauty Association supports the Department of Education’s transparency in determining the most effective process to define gainful employment within the Professional Beauty Industry, they have great concerns regarding the inaccurate reflection of career earnings within the beauty industry under the proposed rule.
The Professional Beauty Association said: “The methods to determine the full income of a licensed beauty professional are flawed and incomplete. It is difficult to collect data on income earned by all beauty professionals in our industry because of the varying options of employment.
“The responsibilities placed upon cosmetology schools are not achievable within the parameters the Department of Education is proposing. The career path and employment of beauty professionals differ from individual to individual.”
The Association are asking for your help! They’ve created a comment space on Regulations.gov, where your voice can be put forward in federal decision making. Submit your comments to the Department of Education here. If you received financial aid when you went to school, please share your story.
Professional Beauty Association said: “Please let the Department know how taking financial aid away from students choosing to attend beauty schools to join our diverse industry, could impact you.”