Dive Brief:

• A new report from a Congressional task force, produced by the American Council on Education, says that federal rules for colleges are too costly, complicated, and confusing.
• The report calls for relief from the federal regulations and a better process for developing new rules, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
• The findings happen to mesh perfectly with the priorities of Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the chairman of the Senate’s education committee, who has made deregulation his main goal for colleges and universities.

Dive Insight:

Alexander, along with two other Republicans and two Democrats from the Senate, created the task force in 2013 with the marching orders to recommend where to consolidate or eliminate specific rules, and how to improve rulemaking. The report offers examples of the cost of compliance with federal rules, including $300,000 per year for Hartwick College, with 1,500 students, to $150 million per year at Vanderbilt University — self-reported estimates that are undoubtedly going to err on the high side. Targeted rules for removal or reform include those on accreditation, campus crime, consumer information, distance learning, and financial aid.