Policy and Legal Affairs

The Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act would have broad implications across the state's 14 public universities, 23 colleges, and some private schools, mirroring similar proposals drafted by other states, along with some unique ones.

“Schools that engage in fraud or misconduct are on notice that we may be listening, and they should clean up accordingly,” said Kristen Donoghue, FSA’s chief enforcement officer in the Department's announcement.

Senate Bill 18 would also demand faculty undergo a yearly performance evaluation which would help "establish an alternate system of tiered employment status for faculty members."

With a $10.8 billion proposed increase to the Department of Education and $2.7 billion allotted for FSA alone, the top Republican on the Budget Committee called the proposal “unserious” and a “road map for fiscal ruin.”

West Virginia University and Marshall University presidents E. Gordon Gee and Brad D. Smith signed a joint letter publicly opposing the bill, suggesting campus carry should be decided by the schools' Board of Governors—not the state. 

To curb the deepening student loan crisis, the Department of Education aims to impede the abuse of federal funding at for-profit colleges by forcing school leaders to assume personal liability for unpaid institutional debt.