The number of state attorneys general investigating for-profit colleges grew to 23 in 2011, as states’ top enforcers sought answers to why for-profit schools are leaving students buried in debt with bleak job prospects, all while taking most of their revenue from the federal government. Though the investigations are separate, the attorney generals formed a working group last spring to share information about the colleges.

But despite the widespread investigations, few AGs have taken action. Attorneys general Lisa Madigan of Illinois and Jack Conway of Kentucky have filed lawsuits against for-profits, but few others have joined as the group struggles to find “common targets,” Conway said in a recent Senate hearing:

“This effort is distinct from the tobacco and mortgage settlements,” in which attorneys general united against the nation’s largest cigarette manufacturers and banks, he said. “Here we have such a diffuse group of schools, with some operating only in certain states.

“We’re sharing information,” he continued. “But we’re having some difficulty finding common targets.”

Conway has sued three for-profit colleges in Kentucky, alleging that the schools misled students and the federal government about financial aid and inflated job-placement numbers. In February, Madigan filed suit against Westwood College, alleging that it misled students about its accreditation.

The working group may now have a common target that could lead to further suits, Conway said in the Senate hearing. The group is now working with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate the for-profits’ institutional student loan processes, in which the schools issue loans they don’t expect to be repaid in order to game federal laws governing financial aid practices.

The high cost of college and other factors are causing American students to drop out before receiving their degree at higher rates than in other developed countries, according to a new study from Harvard University. Only 56 percent of the students who enter America’s colleges and universities graduate within six years, while only 29 percent of students who enter two-year programs complete their degrees within three years, the study found.

The Harvard study is backed by other research showing that Americans complete college at lower rates than the other, poorer countries tracked by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development:

The Harvard study’s assertions are supported by data collected by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for its report “Education at a Glance 2010.” Among 18 countries tracked by the OECD, the United States finished last (46 percent) for the percentage of students who completed college once they started it. That puts the United States behind Japan (89 percent), and former Soviet-bloc states such as Slovakia (63 percent) and Poland (61 percent).

One factor in the higher drop-out rates, according to the Harvard study, is the rising cost of a college education. The cost of college has nearly sextupled since 1985 and the total amount of student loan debt held by Americans surpassed $1 trillion in 2011. With as many as 25 percent of borrowers behind on their loans, the number of Americans seeking relief from student loan debt has increased substantially.

At for-profit colleges, the problems are even worse. More than three-quarters of for-profit students fail to earn a degree after six years, according to a 2011 report, and for-profit students are even more likely to default on their loans than regular students.