One might assume that a college accreditation is an indicator the school has met high standards for education and financial security. But as the recent collapse of Corinthian Colleges demonstrated, this is not always true. In an effort to ensure that America’s students aren’t duped into racking up huge debts to pay for substandard schools, lawmakers are looking to improve the oversight of accrediting agencies.
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for-profit colleges
Lawmakers Open Inquiry Into College Accreditation Agencies
By 11.6.15
Chairman Of University Of Phoenix Parent Company Dumps Millions Of Dollars In Stocks
By 11.2.15
Just a week after University of Phoenix’s parent company Apollo Education Group attempted to tone down the role the troubled for-profit college has played in the company’s falling stock prices and public image, new regulatory filings show the corporation’s own chairman may not have the same faith in the organization, as he dumped nearly $10 million in company stock. [More]
Feds Win Default Judgment Against Corinthian Colleges Over Predatory Lending Scheme
By 10.28.15
In September 2014, just seven months before Everest University, WyoTech and Heald College closed their doors, federal regulators sued the for-profit colleges’ parent company Corinthian Colleges Inc claiming it duped thousands of students into taking out costly, predatory, and often financially devastating, private student loans to finance their post-secondary education. This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau won a default judgment against the for-profit educator for engaging in a predatory lending scheme. [More]
University Of Phoenix Parent Company Tries To Explain Sinking Stock Price
By 10.23.15
For the second time this year, University of Phoenix’s parent company Apollo Education Group attempted to tone down the role the troubled for-profit college has played in the company’s falling stock prices and public image during a phone call with investors. [More]
More Trouble For ITT Education Services: Agency Restricts For-Profit’s Use Of Federal Student Aid
By 10.20.15
Just a month after for-profit college operator ITT Education Services announced it had become the focus of a federal fraud investigation, the Department of Education revealed it had placed restrictions on ITT Technical Institute’s use of federal grants and loans. [More]
Under-Investigation Educators Still Received $8.1B In Federal Funds Last Year
By 10.13.15
The federal government has ramped up its efforts to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive for-profit colleges in recent years: implementing so-called gainful employment rules this summer, discharging millions of dollars in student loans for students who were defrauded by Corinthian Colleges and restricting the University of Phoenix’s ability to participate in tuition-assistance programs for active-duty servicemembers. Still, these steps appear to have done little to keep questionable for-profit colleges from getting their hands on billions of dollars in funding straight from the government. [More]
University Of Phoenix Barred From Military Bases, Using New Tuition Assistance Funds
By 10.9.15
For-profit college chains like the University of Phoenix spend a lot of time and money recruiting active-duty military personnel. But the school has come under fire in recent months for allegedly crossing some legal lines in its efforts to attract students from the armed forces. Yesterday, Phoenix’s parent company revealed that the school is currently barred from recruiting on U.S. military installations, and that Department of Defense tuition assitance funds can not be used to pay for classes for new students. [More]
Legislation Would Hold For-Profit College Leaders Accountable For Misrepresentations
By 9.30.15
Lawmakers on Tuesday continued their mission to protect consumers from unscrupulous players in the for-profit college industry by introducing legislation that would impose stiffer penalties and restrictions on the leaders of such institutions. [More]
ITT Educational Services Target Of Federal Fraud Investigation
By 9.22.15
Things don’t appear to have gotten better for for-profit college operator ITT Educational Services since it announced in September 2014 that it was under increased scrutiny from federal regulators, as the owner of the ITT Technical Institute chain revealed on Monday that the Department of Justice is looking into whether the company defrauded the federal government. [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.
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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]
Mass. AG, Lawmakers Call For More Assistance For Former Corinthian College Students
By 9.2.15
Ever since for-profit education chain Corinthian Colleges Inc. closed its Everest University, WyoTech and Heald College campuses, leaving tens of thousands of students with millions of dollars in loans, consumers advocates, legislators and others have urged the Department of Education to relieve former students of their debt burdens. Those calls for help continued on Tuesday with renewed pressure from Massachusetts Attorney General Marua Healey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren calling on the Dept. to rid victims of the defunct for-profit college of unsustainable loan payments. [More]
Dept. Of Education Plans To Overhaul Loan Forgiveness Program For Students Defrauded By Schools
By 8.20.15
As thousands of former Corinthian College students continue to wait to learn whether or not they’re on the hook to repay billions of dollars in student loans they took out to attend the now defunct for-profit college, the Department of Education announced plans to overhaul the loan forgiveness process for students who believe they have been defrauded by their colleges. [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]
For-Profit College Industry Continues To Bemoan Recently Enacted Gainful Employment Regulations
By 8.11.15
A month after the implementation of long-awaited regulations aimed at reining in for-profit colleges went into effect, opponents of the new rules aren’t simply backing away nicely. Instead, they continue push repeal of the new law, saying it unfairly targets the proprietary schools. [More]
University Of Phoenix Faces Probe Into Military Recruiting Practices
By 8.10.15
A little more than a week after federal regulators set their sights on the University of Phoenix for possible deceptive and unfair business practices, the California Attorney General’s office is joining the investigation party by opening a probe into the for-profit college’s military recruitment practices. [More]
Why Do I Keep Seeing Commercials For Everest University?
By 8.4.15
If you’re sitting at home watching television on any given afternoon, you’re likely to see a few commercials touting the supposed convenience and benefits of attending a for-profit college. But with the recent, very public collapse of now-bankrupt Corinthian Colleges Inc — and the closure of many of its schools — you might be wondering why your Jerry Springer show is being interrupted with ads for Everest University. [More]
