“The Fifth Circuit got it exactly backwards. Borrower Defense is a critical protection for student borrowers and has been in place for over thirty years.”

Graduate social work students are suing USC for misleading students about its expensive online MSW degree program and operating a “diploma mill” 

Student borrowers in the class action lawsuit Sweet v. Cardona filed a motion to enforce the $6 billion borrower defense settlement after the Department of Education violated the agreement by failing to meet the settlement deadline of January 28, 2024.

The Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL), the leading nonprofit legal organization representing borrowers defrauded by predatory colleges, announced that Ashley Harrington has joined the team as PPSL’s Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy. In this new role, Harrington will oversee PPSL’s policy and advocacy work, which focuses on ending predatory practices in higher education.

The U.S. Department of Education today announced a settlement agreement with for-profit school owner International Education Corporation (IEC) and its subsidiaries—Florida Career College (FCC) and United Education Institute (UEI), which also uses the brand name, UEI College (UEIC)—related to violations of the ability-to-benefit (ATB) test regulations. These regulations govern eligibility to receive federal student aid for students who do not have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

BOSTON – Navient announced that it will outsource student loan servicing for its $17 billion portfolio to loan servicer MOHELA. The Project on Predatory Student Lending represents more than one million student borrowers across the country. Many of these borrowers hold private student loans with Navient for predatory for-profit schools, even after their federal loans from those same schools have been canceled due to the schools' misconduct.

The Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL), the leading nonprofit legal organization representing borrowers defrauded by predatory colleges, announced that Noah Zinner has joined the team this month as PPSL’s Director of Litigation. In this executive team role, Zinner will oversee PPSL’s overall legal strategy and team of attorneys.

Today, the Department of Education announced a $37.7 million fine against Grand Canyon University (GCU) for lying to more than 7,500 former and current students over several years about the cost of its doctoral programs. The school falsely advertised a lower cost than what 98% of students ended up paying to complete certain doctoral programs.

In another victory for defrauded former for-profit college students, today the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would approve nearly $37 million in borrower defense to repayment discharges for more than 1,200 students who enrolled at the University of Phoenix between Sept. 21, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2014, and applied for relief.

Borrowers report MOHELA informed them their federal student loans, which were ordered discharged under the Sweet settlement agreement, will go into repayment in October