Despite the pleas — and legal actions — of lawmakers, consumer advocates, and students, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos quietly announced Friday that the Department of Education will further delay, by nearly two years, rules intended to prevent students at unscrupulous schools from being left with nothing but debt if their college collapses. [More]
for-profit colleges
States Accuse Betsy DeVos Of Failing To Protect Students From Sketchy For-Profit Schools
By 10.17.17
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made no effort to hide her support for the for-profit education industry, going so far as to hit “reset” on rules intended to protect students from schools that provide minimal education at a maximum cost. Now, a coalition of 18 state attorneys general are suing DeVos and the Dept. of Education, alleging they failed to hold these schools accountable. [More]
Student Loan Defaults Increase For First Time In Five Years; 8.5M Borrowers Now In Default
By 9.28.17
For the first time in half a decade, the rate of education loan defaults among recent college students has risen, highlighting the struggle many recent graduates face when it comes to paying their educational debts. [More]
Disgraced College Accreditor Asks Betsy DeVos For Second Chance
By 9.15.17
Last year, the Department of Education revoked federal recognition for the accrediting body that ignored red flags at failed for-profit educator Corinthian Colleges and allowed billions in federal aid dollars to schools under investigation. Now, Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools is back, asking new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for another chance. [More]
Education Dept. Hires Exec From Scandalized For-Profit School To Run Enforcement Division
By 8.30.17
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]
Everest College Changes Name To Altierus Two Years After Turning Nonprofit
By 7.20.17
More than two years after Education Credit Management Corporation swooped in to purchase 56 Everest and WyoTech campuses previously owned by defunct for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges, the company has finally changed the remaining schools’ names in a belated attempt to shed the stigma associated with the for-profit chains. [More]
Dozens Of Organizations Come Out In Support Of Gainful Employment, Borrower Defense Rules
By 7.12.17
A week after two separate lawsuits were filed by 19 state attorneys general and a group representing students accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of breaking the law by delaying protections for student loan borrowers, a coalition of more than 50 consumer groups have stepped forward to join the opposition against a “reset” of regulations put in place to protect students at for-profit colleges. [More]
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos “Resets” Rules On For-Profit Colleges
By 6.14.17
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has announced plans to “reset” two regulations that were recently put in place to hold for-profit colleges more accountable and prevent students at these schools from being left with nothing but debt if their college collapses. [More]
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]
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]
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]
Cosmetology Schools Don’t Want To Be Held Accountable For Students’ Success
By 2.10.17 — Updated: 2.12.17
The Gainful Employment Rule, which requires that for-profit educators demonstrate that their graduates can pay their bills, has thus far weathered industry’s attempts to gut the rule. Now we’ll see if new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will defend this rule against a legal challenge brought by a beauty school trade group. [More]
Many For-Profit Colleges Get More Than 90% Of Funding From Federal Government
By 12.21.16
For-profit colleges operate under the so-called “90/10 Rule,” which states that a school can’t receive more than 90% of its revenue from the federal government. However, there’s a loophole that does not count certain military-related education funds — like the GI Bill — against that 90%, meaning these schools can go over that 90% threshold without violating the 90/10 Rule. And according to a new report, hundreds of for-profit schools are indeed getting nearly every dollar of their funding from taxpayers. [More]
For-Profit College Industry Eyes Resurgence Under Trump Administration
By 12.2.16
At its height, the for-profit college industry represented about 25% of all federal student aid, even though these schools only accounted for about 8% of U.S. college students. Meanwhile, these schools were spending the large majority of their money on advertising instead of education, and their students were defaulting on loans at double the rate of other borrowers. Since then, several education chains have shuttered due in no small part to federal investigations and regulations, but investors are seeing sunnier days ahead under a business-friendly Trump White House. [More]
New Rules Aim To Make It Easier For Students To Seek Financial, Legal Relief From Failed Colleges
By 10.28.16
In the last few years, multiple for-profit college chains have closed with little or no warning given to their students, while others remain on the brink of closure. And many of the for-profit schools that remain bar wronged students from ever suing the college in a court of law. Today, the Department of Education finalized the massive overhaul of its “Borrower Defense” rules in an effort to make it easier for students to hold colleges financially and legally responsible for their actions. [More]
More Than A Year After Corinthian Collapse, Students Still Waiting For Financial Aid Help
By 9.30.16
Eighteen months after Corinthian Colleges Inc. completed its collapse – closing the remaining Heald College, Wyotech, and Everest University – tens of thousands of former students are still waiting to received some form of relief from the mountains of student loan debt they incurred to attend the defunct college. [More]
Education Dept. Revokes Recognition Of Troubled Accreditor Of For-Profit Colleges
By 9.23.16
The accrediting body responsible for holding a large number of for-profit schools accountable — including the recently shuttered ITT Tech, and the now-bankrupt Corinthian Colleges — received some bad news this week. The U.S. Department of Education has terminated its federal recognition. [More]
Mom Says College Stole Her ID, Forged Signature To Take Out Student Loan For Son Who Didn’t Attend School
By 9.12.16
A for-profit educator that was recently hit with a $13 million settlement for allegedly filing false claims for student aid is now accused of stealing an Alabama woman’s identity and forging her signature to take out a student loan for her son, even though he never attended that school. [More]
