News
DeVry University misled students. Now, the federal government is erasing their debt | NPR
Nearly 16,000 federal student loan borrowers who were misled by for-profit colleges will have $415 million in debts erased, according to the U.S. Department of Education. These borrowers — who attended DeVry University, ITT Technical Institute and other schools — will receive relief through a legal provision known as borrower defense, which promises loan relief for defrauded borrowers.
Biden Administration Approves $415 Million In New Student Loan Forgiveness Under Troubled Program: Key Details | Forbes
The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday announced that it had approved $415 million in new student loan forgiveness for borrowers defrauded by their schools. “The Department remains committed to giving borrowers discharges when the evidence shows their college violated the law and standards,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a statement. “Students count on their colleges to be truthful. Unfortunately, today’s findings show too many instances in which students were misled into loans at institutions or programs that could not deliver what they’d promised.”
For-Profit College CEO Said CFPB’s Chopra Should Be Abused At Guantanamo | Republic Report
On October 2, 2015, Kevin Modany, the CEO of ITT Educational Services, Inc., then one of the biggest for-profit college operations in the United States, sent an email to company lawyers about Rohit Chopra, an assistant director at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “This guy,” Modany wrote, “should be sent to Guantanamo Bay for about a decade of R&R; which should include an aggressive regimen of ‘water sports’!”
New Report Details Massive Scale of Fraud and Abuse at Notorious For-Profit College ITT Tech | Press Release
The Project on Predatory Student Lending today released a new report detailing the massive scale of fraud and abuse by the defunct for-profit college ITT Tech. The report, “Dreams Destroyed: How ITT Technical Institute Defrauded a Generation of Students” was made public and sent today to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. It presents the largest volume of evidence compiled on ITT, including thousands of ITT’s own internal records. The documents unequivocally show that ITT was not a legitimate educational institution: it systematically and brazenly lied to students in order to profit from their federal financial aid.
Could student loan payments be frozen until 2023? ‘Anything is possible,’ experts say | Fortune Education
Payments on federal student loans have been on pause for nearly two years to give borrowers a financial break during the pandemic. After several extensions, though, borrowers will be on the hook to start making payments again in less than 100 days.
Myrna Figueroa's NegReg Comments | Blog
The following is a transcript from the Department of Education's Negotiated Rulemaking session on January 18, 2022. During the public comment period, students are encouraged to share their comments on their experiences. Here is Myrna's story.
Statement On Navient Settlement Cancelling $1.85 Billion in Predatory Student Debt | Press Release
Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, joined by a coalition of 38 attorneys general, announced a settlement with private student loan lender Navient. Under the settlement, Navient will provide relief totaling $1.85 billion to resolve allegations of widespread unfair and deceptive student loan servicing practices and abuses in originating predatory student loans.
Navient Reaches a Deal to Cancel $1.7 Billion in Student Loan Debts | NPR
The loan servicing giant Navient has agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in student loan debts owed by roughly 66,000 borrowers, as part of a settlement announced Thursday with 39 state attorneys general. The settlement ends a years-long legal fight with states in which Navient faced two serious allegations.
Judge Critical of Biden Administration’s Progress on Student Debt Relief Claims | Washington Post
A federal judge is criticizing the Biden administration for not moving quickly enough to resolve claims from defrauded student loan borrowers who sued over Trump-era policies that denied them debt relief.
A $30 Billion Predatory Industry
For decades, the predatory for-profit college industry has exploited the promise of higher education. Instead of providing the quality programs promised, these companies invest almost no money into meaningful career training, leaving thousands of students behind. Meanwhile for-profit colleges are among the most heavily tax subsidized of any private sector, taking more than $30 billion in taxpayer money each year in the form of federal student aid. The Project’s landmark cases expose these broken systems, enforce students’ rights, and will ultimately prevent this predatory industry from cheating students and taxpayers.