Marco Rubio's radical education plan could benefit one embattled type of college

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio gave a sweeping speech on Tuesday where he called for an overhaul of the US higher-education system, specifically pointing to changing the accreditation process for colleges.

"Within my first 100 days, I will bust this cartel by establishing a new accreditation process that welcomes low-cost, innovative providers," Rubio said.

Rubio's push to welcome "low-cost, innovative providers" - which could be a euphemism for for-profit colleges - may raise eyebrows of those familiar with his prior ties to for-profit colleges.

Corinthian Colleges, previously one of the largest for-profit colleges before it filed for bankruptcy this spring, gave $5,000 to Rubio's Reclaim America PAC in 2014, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

That support may have paid off. Rubio wrote to the Department of Education in 2014 asking for "leniency" in dealing with Corinthian by letting it access federal financial-aid dollars while it was being investigated by the US government, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg.

Rubio's push for loosening accreditation standards runs up against the US Department of Education's simultaneous effort to tamp down on for-profit colleges. The department over the past year has been ratcheting up its efforts to punish or close so-called "bad actors" in the for-profit space, and it's been pushing for those colleges to meet existing accreditation standards.

Lawmakers have echoed the department's questions about how the process protects students.

"Are accreditors doing enough to ensure that students are learning and receiving a quality education?" Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate education committee, asked at a hearing.