Dedicated and effective government employees can come from many prior walks of life, it’s true; the path through any career can be winding and complex. But choosing someone with major ties to a for-profit college that engaged in questionable behaviors to head up a division tasked with investigating for-profit colleges that engage in questionable behaviors seems like a bad sign. [More]
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Education Dept. Hires Exec From Scandalized For-Profit School To Run Enforcement Division
Dept. Of Education Hasn’t Approved A Loan Forgiveness Claim In Six Months
When Education Secretary Betsy DeVos hit “reset” on revamped Borrower Defense rules that aim to ensure students at troubled schools weren’t left with nothing but debt if their college collapsed, she noted that students who had already submitted claims for loan forgiveness wouldn’t be affected. But that doesn’t appear to be the case, as the Dept. hasn’t approved a single application in nearly six months. [More]
For-Profit Colleges Sue To Stop Rule That Protects Students Of Failed Schools
Federal regulations that aim to protect and refund student loan borrowers defrauded by their schools could end before they even go into place, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the for-profit college industry. [More]
DeVry University Must Pay $100 Million To Former Students For Misleading Ads
At the beginning of the year, the Federal Trade Commission sued popular for-profit college DeVry University, claiming the school’s advertising misled would-be students about how likely a DeVry degree is to get them a job. And now to ring out the year, the school and the Commission have reached a $100 million settlement that sends all that money right back into students’ pockets. [More]
DeVry University Must Stop Claiming That 90% Of Grads Get Jobs
Many for-profit college chains recruited students through ads touting exceedingly high job-placement rates, but as we’ve seen from the recent collapses of chains like Corinthian Colleges Inc. and ITT Tech, those placement statistics can be artificially inflated. This week, for-profit educator DeVry Education Group agreed to be more honest and transparent about the job-placement claims in its ads and recruitment materials. [More]
DeVry Education Group Will Limit How Much Federal Aid Its Schools Accept
The so-called 90/10 rule says that for-profit colleges can’t derive more than 90% of their revenue from federal financial aid. In the wake of the collapse of ITT Tech, which had to shutter after the government clamped down on its access to federal funds, the DeVry chain of for-profit schools says it will cap the amount of federal aid it receives at levels below what the rules require. [More]
Student Loan Companies Tell Congress: Debt-Collection Robocalls Are In Borrowers’ Best Interest
Show me someone who supports robocalls, and I’ll show you someone that has very few friends. Which is why it’s baffling that the Senate has yet to act on a bill introduced last fall that would close a loophole allowing the government to make debt-collection robocalls. But you know who does support robocalls? The student loan companies that are currently trying to convince Congress that these invasive annoyances are really for our benefit. [More]
DeVry Closing 14 Campuses, Moving Students Online
Amid lawsuits, scandals, shutdowns — not to mention the many former students who say they racked up huge student loan bills without getting an adequate education — enrollment at for-profit colleges in the U.S. continues to shrink. And students at 14 DeVry campuses in 11 cities will soon have to take their education online with the educator moving those schools online in an effort to save money. [More]
Admission Party's Over At For-Profit Colleges
As the economy (sorta) bounces back and would-be students are able to find jobs, colleges trying to make money to teach business or technical skillsare having a harder time convincing new students to enroll and pay them the big bucks. [More]