Lot’s of people (in the U.S. anyway) tend to react badly when they hear the word “regulation.” That’s mostly thanks to a long right-wing campaign to undermine the very idea of government. Of course, without regulation we’d be drinking poisoned water or living in houses that might burn down or buying products that could kill us. In fact, logically, given the still emerging ramifications of global warming, or the ongoing crisis of the financial industry, here and in Europe, we don’t have enough regulation. Or, perhaps, we don’t have enough regulators. The for-profit industry should fight for a strong, adequately staffed regulatory system.

The for-profit sector is no more or less corrupt than the public, but the regulations outlined in “Accreditor to Offer New Model That Looks Into Corporate Practices of For-Profit Colleges” should be welcomed. A strong accreditation system, tailor-made for the for-profits, is a necessity.The current era of for-profit growth is rooted in the sheer number of students left out- or pushed out- of the pubic system. As the market matures over the next decade or so, this growth will slow to a crawl and students will become much more selective. When that happens, we will need strong accreditation systems to compete.