Increases in college tuition might have made sense during the brief boom years of the real estate bubble. But when the economy tanked and Americans struggled to recover, college costs continued to soar, resulting in even more students taking on loans to pay for their education. [More]
Education
Senate Set To Vote On Bill To Refinance Private & Federal Student Loan Interest Rates
By 9.8.14
A bill left for dead in the Senate back in June has been resurrected. The Bank On Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act that would allow consumers to refinance their student loans to the rate currently being issues on new federal and private student loans is slated for a vote Tuesday morning. [More]
John Oliver On For-Profit Colleges: You Might As Well Go To Hogwarts
By 9.8.14
What would it look like if you condensed all our hundreds of stories about student loans and for-profit colleges into a profanity-filled, hilarious rant that takes a brief detour to discuss Lyndon Johnson’s scrotum? John Oliver answered that question on Sunday night. [More]
There Are So Many Things Wrong With This Everest University Job Posting That We Might Cry
By 8.14.14
Earlier this summer Corinthian Colleges proved to be in it for the long haul when, despite striking a deal with the Dept. of Education to either sell off or close most of its schools, it continued to pepper television airways with ads and badger attendees at college fairs in order to entice students to enroll. Now the company is showing that those questionable marketing skills aren’t just for students, but also to hook potential educators and support staff. [More]
Corinthian Colleges Subpoenaed In Possible Criminal Investigation
By 8.14.14
Corinthian Colleges — the company that operates for-profit college chains like Everest, WyoTech, and Heald — is already under investigation by various state and federal regulators, but the company has disclosed to its investors that it may also be the subject of a criminal probe by federal prosecutors. [More]
Corinthian Colleges Employee: “We Work For The Biggest Scam Company In The World”
By 7.24.14
Corinthian Colleges — the operator of for-profit school chains Everest University, WyoTech, and Heald Colleges — is selling off or shutting down campuses as it faces lawsuits and investigations from multiple state and federal agencies. The allegations involve bogus job-placement stats, grade manipulation, and misleading marketing. We recently spoke to several current and former CCI teachers and admissions staffers who confirmed these bad practices and explained that it was all done in pursuit of billions of dollars in federal aid from taxpayers. [More]
Your Corinthian-Operated School Is Closing, But You Might Not Be Completely Screwed
By 7.18.14
It’s not everyday that a higher education institution shuts down or announces it might be sold. But for the thousands of students attending Corinthian College Inc. (CCI) schools — like Everest University, WyoTech, or Heald College –– that’s their new reality, and it’s one that leaves more questions than answers. [More]
Student: Corinthian Colleges’ Demise Is Like “Watching A House Fall On A Witch”
By 7.17.14
The downfall of Corinthian Colleges — the operator of Everest University, WyoTech, and Heald College — has put for-profit education chains in the spotlight, with people focusing on allegations of bogus job-placement statistics, grade manipulation, questionable marketing practices, and speculation regarding what will happen to $1.4 billion in federal student aid. But what about the actual students who have been watching this collapse from the inside? What about their stories? [More]
Corinthian Employees: School Manipulated Grades, Job-Placement Stats To Score Federal Aid Money
By 7.16.14
When a college touts its job-placement statistics to prospective students and investors, does that number only refer to graduates who have jobs in their field of study? What about people who have decent jobs that aren’t in that field, but which they wouldn’t have gotten without the extra schooling? And should that stat include every grad who is earning any sort of paycheck, regardless of how meager the income or how unrelated to their education? [More]
Corinthian Colleges To Sell Off 85 Campuses; Close 12 Others
By 7.7.14
While most of us spent the July 4th weekend relaxing and trying to not think about work or school, the folks at faltering for-profit education company Corinthian Colleges — operators of Everest University, WyoTech, and Heald College — were busy slapping For Sale signs on almost all of their campuses around the country. [More]
One University Saved Students $31M In Student Loans By Sending Them A Letter
By 7.3.14
“Know before you owe” took on a different meaning for students at Indiana University this year. A new initiative by the school resulted in students borrowing nearly $31 million less than in previous years. [More]
Why These 5 Pro-Consumer Bills Won’t Become Law In 2014
By 7.3.14
Back in January, at the dawn of the year, we gazed into our not-quite-crystal ball and took a look at some pieces of pending legislation that could help consumers this year. Now, in July, we’re at the halfway point of the year, and so it’s a good time to take a look at those bills and see how the wheels of government have turned in 2014. [More]
The Government Has 1.2 Billion Reasons To Keep Corinthian Colleges Afloat
By 7.2.14
For the last week, we’ve been telling you about the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. Dept. of Education and Corinthian Colleges, the operators of the for-profit Everest University, WyoTech, and Heald College chains, that would sell off some of the schools and wind-down the others. Some people have asked why the government doesn’t just let Corinthian collapse. Part of the reason is that it would leave some 72,000 students in the lurch, but a big motivating factor is that the government could end waving bye-bye to more than $1 billion in student loan debt. [More]
Corinthian’s Plans To Sell Off Heald College Campuses Didn’t Win Over Government
By 7.2.14
A week ago, beleaguered for-profit college biggie Corinthian — which operates the Everest University, WyoTech, and Heald College chains — confirmed that it would be meeting with the Dept. of Education to discuss its plan to sell off some of its campuses in an attempt to free up student loan money and allow classes to continue while the school is investigated by state and federal regulators for allegations of misleading marketing and questionable loan application processes. The two parties met on Tuesday, but no deal was reached. [More]
Are You A Student At Everest University, WyoTech, Or Heald College? We’d Like To Hear From You
July 1, 2014
Corinthian Colleges, Inc., one of the nation’s largest for-profit education companies — running popular chains of schools like Everest Univeristy, WyoTech, and Heald College — is also in the process of becoming that industry’s biggest collapse, as it works with the Dept. of Education to sort out a plan for selling off a number of its campuses and winding down others. While much has been made about the company’s billions in student loan funding, we haven’t heard much from the students. [More]
Senators Hope To Block New Student Enrollment At For-Profit Corinthian Colleges
By 6.27.14
Days after the U.S. Dept. of Education brokered a deal with Corinthian Colleges — the operator of for-profit school chains like WyoTech, Heald Colleges, and Everest — that would allow these programs to remain open while it faces numerous state and federal investigations, a dozen Senators have asked the Education Secretary to block continued enrollment at Corinthian-owned schools. [More]
Not Everyone Has $100,000 In Student Loan Debt, But That Doesn’t Mean There’s Not A Problem
By 6.25.14
Horror stories about student loan debt have dominated the headlines in recent years. Many feature consumers with hefty loan tabs of more than $100,000, however, those experiences aren’t necessarily representative of the student loan landscape as a whole. But, just because you’re not bleeding to death, doesn’t mean you’re not bleeding. And just because most borrowers have $10,000 or less in debt doesn’t mean they aren’t hurting. [More]
Expected Bill Would Allow Private Student Loan Debt To Be Discharged In Bankruptcy
By 6.25.14
If at first you don’t succeed, try again with a more drastic measure. Just two weeks after a bill to allow private student loan borrowers to refinance at lower interest rates failed to gain traction in the Senate, a new bill expected to be introduced this week takes things a step farther. [More]
