If you want to boost your resume by taking one of those intensive “bootcamp” training programs but don’t have the funds to pay for it, a new experimental offering from the Department of Education would allow you to use federal student loans to cover the cost. [More]
education
New Test Program Lets You Use Federal Loans To Pay For Intensive Career & Coding Training
By 10.15.15
Colleges Paying Sketchy Agents To Recruit Rich Foreign Students
By 10.1.15
With schools looking for ways to bolster their bottom lines without having to rely on federal funding, a growing number of colleges are paying recruiters to bring in well-heeled students from overseas — even though some of these agents have been caught trying to fake applicants’ transcripts. [More]
Federal Perkins Student Loan Program Set To Expire At Midnight
By 9.30.15
After 57 years of assisting nearly 20 million low-income students to finance their dreams of obtaining a higher education, the Federal Perkins Loan program could soon be grinding to a halt. [More]
Bill Would Restore Pell Grant Eligibility For Students Who Attended Defunct For-Profit Colleges
By 9.17.15
The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income students to help pay for college, but the funds come with limitations: They are only available for six years or 12 semesters, and when that time is up the funding is gone. So when now-bankrupt Corinthian Colleges Inc. abruptly closed its Wyotech, Heald College and Everest University campuses in April, thousands of students who relied on Pell money were left with few options for continuing their education elsewhere. A new piece of legislation aims to help these stranded students get back on track. [More]
For-Profit Colleges Lead The Way On Loan Defaults: Report
By 9.11.15
During the Great Recession, the growing industry of for-profit colleges promised millions of Americans a path to a higher education. But the high tuitions charged by many schools sent U.S. student loan debt soaring to more than $1.2 trillion. A new report claims that while for-profit schools charged top-dollar, many students were getting a cut-rate education, making it difficult to obtain jobs that will allow them to pay down this debt.
[More]
Corinthian Students Continue To Wait For Debt Relief As Department Of Ed. Reviews More Than 7,800 Claims
By 9.4.15
The tens of thousands of students seeking debt relief from the federal government after for-profit education chain Corinthian Colleges Inc. closed its Everest University, WyoTech and Heald College campuses, will have to wait a little longer, the Department of Education said Thursday as it provided an update on the number of federal student loans it has discharged and that are currently under consideration. [More]
Servicemembers At Failing For-Profit Schools Not Protected By Veterans Affairs
By 8.18.15
When a for-profit college closes its doors, students are often left with hefty student loan tabs and little recourse. Some of those borrowers may be eligible for a discharge of their debts through the Dept. of Education, but others – like the thousands of veterans who used their GI Bill benefits to finance their education – are simply out of luck, often losing their chance to obtain a degree, thanks in part to failures within the Department of Veterans Affairs. [More]
Prisoners Will Soon Be Eligible For Pell Grants To Finance Education
By 7.31.15
Twenty years after passing a law that banned prisoners from financing higher education with federal grants while incarcerated, the government is ready to begin investing in the education of inmates. [More]
When Comparing Colleges, It Would Help To Know If A School Is Under Investigation
By 7.22.15
Many consumers thinking of pursuing a higher education weigh the pros and the cons of a specific college: tuition, convenience, available areas of study. Last month, the Department of Education announced it would make the college shopping experience a little easier for prospective students by creating a consumer-facing online college comparison system. While the tool will no doubt be helpful, consumer advocates warn that, as it stands, the system will be missing a vital information: whether or not schools are party to investigation, lawsuits or settlements over harmful and deceptive practices. [More]
CFPB Releases Educational Guides To Help Non-English Speakers Avoid Scams, Understand Financial Issues
By 7.10.15
Understanding the world of finance can be difficult for just about anyone in this country, but especially so when the rules of the industry are written in a language that you might not be proficient in. For these consumers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created a new set of guides aimed at helping them avoid financial devastation. [More]
House, Senate Introduce Legislation To Cover The Cost Of Community College
By 7.9.15
Back in January, the White House proposed a plan to help offset the increasing cost of higher education for millions of prospective students: Offer free community college. Yesterday, companion bills introduced in the House and Senate take that idea and make it a reality. [More]
Oregon Becomes Second State To Offer Free Tuition To All Graduating High School Students
By 7.8.15
Thousands of recent high school graduates in Oregon now have the chance to attend community college without the worry of accumulating loads of debt they may never be able to pay back, as lawmakers in the state recently approved a bill to establish the second program in the country to offer students help in paying for college. [More]
New Jersey Legislation Would Create Student Loan Lottery To Let You Gamble Away Your Debt
By 7.8.15
While lottery proceeds may do an awful lot of good for state coffers, the odds of winning are microscopically small, and anyone who has lived in a poverty-stricken neighborhood has likely seen people who can’t afford to lose any money throwing away what little they have on a nose hair’s chance that they might win something. So why not apply that same model to the $1 trillion student loan debt problem? [More]
Senators Introduce Legislation To Close Federal Funding Loophole Exploited By For-Profit Colleges… Again
By 6.24.15
Legislators continued their crusade to rein in the abuses of predatory for-profit college institutions by introducing a measure today that would close a funding loophole that often led the schools to target certain consumers in order to pad their bottom line. [More]
Health Insurer Anthem Offering Employees Free College
By 6.2.15
What do Fiat Chrysler, Starbucks and health insurer Anthem have in common? As of today, they each offer to foot the bill for their employees to attend college. [More]
Executives For The World’s Largest Diploma Mill Arrested
By 5.27.15
Less than two weeks after an investigative report detailed how a Pakistan-based IT company allegedly raked in millions of dollars a month by selling bogus diplomas, degrees and certifications through a series of fake websites and forceful sales calls, authorities in the country say they’ve arrested the chief executive of Axact. [More]
For-Profit Educator Ashworth College Settles FTC Charges It Misrepresented Career Opportunities, Transfer Credits
By 5.26.15
Federal regulators’ crackdown on the for-profit education industry continued today as Georgia-based Ashworth College agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges the company misled students about career training and credit transfers. [More]
California Suspends GI Bill Eligibility For ITT Tech
By 5.20.15
Thousands of California students planning to use veterans benefits to enroll at ITT Technical Institute campuses will need to find other means of financing their education after the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs suspended ITT Educational Services’ eligibility for GI Bill funding. [More]
