The battle has been joined. Republicans and Democrats are duking it out over for-profit education. US News and World Report reports that when

Republicans seized control of the United States House of Representatives in last November's elections, there was wide speculation that it was a victory for the for-profit education industry. Analysts understood that a Republican House would likely stand in the way of legislation calling for the type of stringent regulations commonly advocated by several Democratic lawmakers.

But Democrats are not simply going to admit defeat:

While Democrats hoping to further regulate the for-profit education industry may not be able to pass sweeping legislation, they do have a significant amount of leverage thanks to an exemption critical to for-profit schools that expires in July.

The article goes on to report that the Democrats "have pushed for regulation in hopes of benefiting consumers like Shannon Croteau, who wanted her husband, a truck driver, to scale back his working hours so he could spend more time with her and their three children." Croteau enrolled in a Kaplan University online program in order to earn a degree that would help her secure a better-paying job than the one she was currently holding.

Yet according to the article Croteau ended up with "$30,000 in student loan debt with no degree to show for it," because her degree program wasn't accredited in her state -- something she didn't find out until it was too late.

The Department of Education is already taking measures to ensure that future students don't make the same mistake. Soon it will offer clear definitions of gainful employment regulations, which "are meant to ensure that schools adequately prepare their students for the working world by examining their students' debt load on graduation, student income, and student loan repayment rates."