WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Department officials opened formal negotiations on Monday to rewrite federal rules meant to protect students from fraud by colleges and universities. The talks with university representative and student advocates are taking place as the department faces criticism for delaying consideration of tens of thousands of loan forgiveness claims from students who say they were defrauded by for-profit colleges.

Students who attended for-profit colleges filed more than 98% of the requests for student loan forgiveness alleging fraud by their schools, according to an analysis of Education Department data published Thursday.

State Attorney General Maura Healey yesterday fired back at U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos following a report that the Trump administration may only partially forgive federal loans of students defrauded by for-profit colleges.

The Education Department is considering only partially forgiving federal loans for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, according to department officials, abandoning the Obama administration's policy of erasing that debt.

Kennya Cabrera Garcia is among 65,000 student borrowers across the country who were put into financial limbo after a federal college loan forgiveness program was put on hold.

From dropping protections for transgender students to fostering a friendlier climate for for-profit colleges, DeVos has made an immediate mark.