for-profit

As policy makers work to reign in student debt, there’s been a lot of attention on for-profit colleges like the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University.

Thirty-two states, including Massachusetts, have endorsed new regulations that would require all of these schools to provide more accurate information. Now, the Obama administration is taking steps to further regulate for-profits.

Massachusetts is joining a growing number of states that want to better regulate for-profit colleges. The Attorney General’s office is taking testimony this week on new rules that would strengthen oversight of colleges that don’t have tax-exempt status and rely on tuition and stock market investors.

Private, for-profit colleges have joined the march of institutions that appear to be lowering their tuition as enrollment flattens out and families become increasingly price conscious.

The average tuition paid by students at four-year, for-profit colleges, when adjusted for inflation, fell from $16,268 in the 2006-2007 academic year to $13,819 in 2011-2012, the independent think tank Education Sector reports, citing data from the U.S. Department of Education.