As adults, we all kind of have at least a vague peripheral sense that the devices and software we use are probably up to some kind of shenanigans with our personal data. Kids, however, are probably not thinking as closely about what they tell the devices they use, and what data those devices then share — especially if they’re school-owned tools. And yet, a new report finds, some of the learning technology schoolchildren are required to use every day are some of the worst when it comes to explaining and protecting users’ privacy. [More]
Education
Not Too Late To Get Federal Loan Forgiveness, States Remind Corinthian Students
By 4.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Earlier this week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded relatively new federal guidelines intended to make the student loan repayment process more accurate and transparent. With the possibility that other federal student loan protections could face the same fate, the Attorneys General from dozens of states are reminding former students of defunct for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges to apply for federal student loan discharges. [More]
Education Secretary DeVos Withdraws Protections For Student Loan Borrowers
By 4.11.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Relatively new federal guidelines intended to to make the student loan repayment process more accurate and transparent have all been rescinded today by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos — a move that consumer advocates says removes accountability for debt collectors and loan servicers. [More]
New York To Offer Free Tuition At Four-Year Public Universities
By 4.10.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Hundreds of thousands of New York residents mulling the idea of going to college at a public university could soon enroll for free, as the state’s lawmakers passed a budget over the weekend that included a program that would allow students from middle- and low-income families to attend college for free. [More]
FAFSA Tool Vulnerability May Have Exposed 100K Individuals’ Personal Info
By 4.7.17
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a bit cumbersome, so the Department of Education tried to ease that burden by creating a tool that automatically filled in an applicant’s previous year’s tax information. That tool was suddenly taken offline last month over concerns about data security, and now we have some idea of how many applicants may have had their information exposed. [More]
One Major University Now Offering Scholarships For Gamers
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Are you a big-time gamer? Want to go to college, but worried about the high price of admission? The University of Utah might have a viable option for you: The school now offers scholarships for competitive video gaming. [More]
Navient Claims It’s Under No Obligation To Help Student Loan Borrowers
By 4.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Navient, the largest student loan servicer in the country, is here to simply collect your monthly education loan payments, not help you find ways to more easily afford those payments. [More]
When Education Dept. Said Your Student Loan Would Be Forgiven, It May Not Have Meant It
By 3.31.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
One way to erase federal student loan debt is to work for the government or at a non-profit for 10 years. However, thousands of people who received notices from the Department of Education that their federal student loans were going to be forgiven through this program may still be on the hook for this debt, as the Department now says these notices are not binding. [More]
American Students Moving To Europe For Free College
By 3.30.17
With the average recent college graduate leaving campus with a diploma and $30,000 in debt, it’s no surprise that would-be-students are looking for ways to get an education without taking on such a financial burden. While they could opt to live in certain cities or states, or go to work for any of a number of the companies offering free schooling, many are moving… to Europe. [More]
Student Loan Debt Collectors Not Eager To Charge Fees Reinstated By Trump Administration
By 3.30.17
The Department of Education recently advised companies that collect debt on billions of dollars in outstanding federal student loans that they can once again charge a large penalty fee to defaulted borrowers. However, the collectors — even one that is currently suing the government for the right to charge this fee — now say they will not automatically add thousands of dollars in additional debt to loans in default. [More]
Complaints About Student Loan Servicing Increased 429% In Past Year
By 3.28.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In the past year, federal regulators and consumer advocates have highlighted issues with student loans and the servicing of these often crippling debts: from finding that educational loans continue to haunt older borrowers, to suing Navient, the largest student loan servicing company. Because of this, it might not come as much of a surprise that the number of complaints the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received related to student loans has skyrocketed. [More]
Former Lobbyist, Son Of Student Loan Debt-Collector, Resigns From Dept. Of Education
By 3.22.17
In our recent story on the Trump administration’s decision to roll back protections for potentially millions of student loan borrowers, we also told you about new Department of Education advisor Taylor Hansen, a former lobbyist for the for-profit college industry whose father is the CEO of a student loan debt collection company that has been suing Taylor’s new employer since 2015 for the right to charge thousands of dollars in fees to people who are already having trouble paying back their loans. Now comes news that Hansen’s brief life as a federal employee has come to an end. [More]
Trump Administration Eases Restriction On Student Loan Debt Collectors
By 3.17.17
The Department of Education has told federal student loan debt collectors that they are to ignore previous guidance that restricted the fees they could charge to borrowers who defaulted on their loans — even if they immediately enter into repayment programs. [More]
Public Broadcasting, Arts Endowment, Others Make Case Against Proposed Defunding
By 3.16.17
President Trump’s new “skinny” budget puts more than a dozen well-known publicly funded agencies and corporations — ranging from public broadcasting to legal services to chemical safety — on the chopping block. With nothing to lose, the heads of these organizations are now firing back, hoping to convince Congress to keep their funding intact. [More]
More Than 1.1M Federal Student Loan Borrowers Entered Default Last Year
By 3.15.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
With the cost of college tuition continuing to increase, it likely comes as no surprise that more borrowers are finding themselves in default. In 2016 alone, 1.1 million borrowers entered default for their federal student loans. [More]
18 Attorneys General Ask Education Secretary DeVos To Not Go Soft On For-Profit Colleges
By 2.22.17 — Updated: 2.23.17
A number of high-profile for-profit educators shut down or scaled back operations in recent years, among accusations of overcharging and under-educating students, and new rules intended to hold schools accountable. However, these companies’ fortunes began to turn after the election of Donald Trump and his naming of pro-industry Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. That’s why a group of 18 state attorneys general is calling on the administration to not ease up on these controversial schools. [More]
DeVry Will Pay $2.75M To Settle State’s Allegations Of Misleading Advertising
By 1.31.17
One month after DeVry Education Group agreed to pay $100 million to settle federal regulatory charges that it used deceptive ads to recruit students, the for-profit educator has come to a multimillion-dollar settlement that should close the book on one state-level investigation. [More]
Trump Executive Order Requires Cutting 2 Old Rules For Every 1 New Rule, But Is It That Easy?
By 1.30.17
This morning, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that is being described as “two out, one in,” meaning that for each new federal regulation, two existing rules are to be cut. While it might seem like a simple concept, the reality is quite different. [More]
