The final federal regulations requiring career colleges to better prepare students for jobs kicked in July 1, an article from SWTimes.com reports . The regulations will ramp up over four years, allowing ample time for reform.

The regulations are intended to ensure that students get what they pay for in terms of education and career readiness.

In order to remain eligible for student aid funding, the schools must meet standards on three performance measures:

1. At least 35 percent of students must be repaying their loans, a fact which is demonstrated by a decline in balances by at least $1.00 over the course of a year;
2. The annual loan payment does not exceed 30 percent of a graduate's discretionary income;
3. The annual loan payment does not exceed 12 percent of a graduate's total earnings.

If a school fails all three measures, the SWTimes.com article reports, it must disclose "the amount by which it missed the minimum measure as well as its plans for improvement.

If a school fails twice within three years, "it must notify its students that they may not be able to afford their student-loan debts, the program may lose its federal student aid eligibility and any transfer options."

Finally, if a school fails three times within four years, it will lose its eligibility for federal student aid and cannot re-establish eligibility for at least three years. The school can, however, operate without federal aid.

With for-profit college students accounting for more than 12 percent of all higher education students, these rules are important to ensure these students receive the best education possible, whether they pursue a degree in business administration or medical billing and coding.

But you wonder how the not-for-profit schools would fare under such regulations. With the unemployment rate for college-educated individuals ticking ever higher, all institutions of higher education should be subject to governmental scrutiny.