Critics say that for-profit career colleges--which, according to industry figures, enrolled 3.2 million students in the United States in 2009--have been plagued by deceptive recruiting practices that lure students into programs they could find elsewhere for much less money. Students often borrow tens of thousands of dollars to attend these schools--only to discover later that their degrees are worthless and their credits won't transfer. Having racked up enormous debts, they can't return to school for useful training. Thus, they are caught in a spiral, owing more than they can afford to repay, unable to change that equation, and at risk of garnished wages, ruined credit, and seizure of their income-tax refunds. With the economy in shambles, it's no surprise that more Americans are enrolling in for-profit career colleges, which blitz the airwaves with promises of fast, focused, hands-on training. The schools offer testimonials from former students--or actors playing former students--who claim to have turned their lives around after attending proprietary schools. For-profit schools may soon find themselves with considerably less wiggle room. In October, the Obama administration adopted a new regulation eliminating the twelve Bush-era "safe harbors." Starting July 1, for-profits will no longer be able to consider enrollment figures in how they pay recruiters. Other new rules require career colleges to disclose their graduation and job-placement rates and give the government more authority to crack down on deceptive practices. As this issue went to press, the Obama administration was finalizing--and the industry was battling--another rule that would tie schools' federal student-aid eligibility to both loan-repayment rates and the income-to-debt ratio of their graduates. In February, the US House passed an amendment designed to block this rule. The Senate had not taken up the measure as of late March.