The action will cancel
“The evidence shows that for years, ITT’s leaders intentionally misled students about the quality of their programs in order to profit off federal student loan programs, with no regard for the hardship this would cause," Education Secretary
It adds to the administration's growing list of piecemeal student debt cancellations — a similar action in June promised to erase
President
Through targeted cancellation for specific groups of borrowers, the administration says it has now approved nearly
The new policy will automatically cancel any remaining federal student debt that was used to attend ITT Tech from
At its height, ITT was among the largest for-profit college chains in the nation, with 130 campuses across 38 states. The company abruptly shut down after facing heavy sanctions from the
The
Federal officials based the decision on findings from many state attorneys general, along with the
Investigators found widespread evidence that ITT Tech made false claims about the ability of its students to find jobs after graduating, the agency said. They also found that the chain misled students about their ability to get credits transferred to other schools, and about the accreditation of the chain's nursing program.
"ITT defrauded hundreds of thousands of students,” said
The decision drew applause from groups that represent students.
“This is a life-changing announcement for thousands of people who only wanted to improve their lives and trusted the wrong people to help them do it,” said
“It was all for a degree that no one takes seriously. Whenever I told employers where I attended college, I was shown the door,” said Berkhalter, of
Berkhalter previously got much of her nearly
“The cloud has been removed from over my head,” she said. “I know there are hundreds of thousands of former students like myself who are finally getting the relief they deserve.”
In a separate action, the
In February, the Biden administration approved
DeVry will now get the chance to submit arguments explaining why it should not be held liable. DeVry officials are reviewing the department's notice, spokesperson
“We continue to believe the department mischaracterizes DeVry’s calculation and disclosure of graduate outcomes in certain advertising, and we do not agree with the conclusions they have reached,” Fernandez said.
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