Feds will give nearly 16,000 federal student loan borrowers $415 million in relief. This is according to an announcement Wednesday by the Education Department. It will provide the new details of fraud by many for-profit schools. They include those who attend DeVry University.
Feds and College Standards of Truth
“Moreover, the Department does, in fact, remain committed to giving borrowers discharges. In fact, the evidence did show their college has to violate the law and standards,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. It was in a statement. “Also, the students can count on their colleges to be truthful. Unfortunately, the findings today have shown how too many instances in which the students were misled. This was into loans at institutions or programs that could not deliver what they’d promised.”
Also, the department did determine that DeVry made “widespread substantial misrepresentations about its job placement rates.” It would discharge the debt of 1,800 former DeVry students to the astronomical tune of $71.7 million.
Moreover, the department officials did find that from 2008 to 2015, DeVry had repeatedly misled prospective students with claims. Also, 90% of its graduates did obtain jobs in their field of study within six months of graduation. The claim was, in fact, central to its national advertising campaign, “We Major in Careers,” to thus brand the DeVry as a “Career Placement University.”
In fact, the institution’s actual job placement rate was around 58%. It was according to the department, which also found that senior DeVry officials knew about the false advertising.
Department officials also said they would anticipate that the number of approved claims did relate to DeVry will increase as it continues reviewing the pending applications. Notably, these are the first approving borrower defense claims which are associated with a currently operating institution.
DeVry has long been the focus of the ongoing investigations. In 2016, the Federal Trade Commission did reach a $100 million settlement with the for-profit operator. It was around some similar allegations of cooking job placement rates.
