Education Dept. Urged to Scuttle State-Authorization Rule

Sixty higher-education organizations have signed a letter asking the education secretary, Arne Duncan, to rescind a rule requiring colleges that participate in federal student-aid programs to certify that they are approved to offer degrees in each state in which they operate. The letter, released by the American Council on Education, says the state-authorization rule, which will go into effect in July, “creates serious concerns for our private, nonprofit institutions—in particular for religiously affiliated and other mission-based institutions—and threatens the ability of both public and private institutions to serve students through effective distance-education programs.”