Education Secretary Arne Duncan with President Obama CREDIT: AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari The Department of Education will release long-awaited rules on Thursday that could cut many predatory for-profit colleges off from federal loan dollars in the coming years unless their graduates see significant improvement in their job prospects. The so-called “gainful employment” rule has been in the works for years, drawing fierce lobbying from the industry and angry rhetoric from its supporters in Congress.