The Biden administration says it will cancel more than $70 million in student debt for borrowers who say they were defrauded by the for-profit DeVry University.
It marks the first time the Education Department has approved such claims for an institution that’s still in operation.
About 1,800 former DeVry students will get their loans cleared after the department concluded that the school lied about the success of its graduates.
“The Department remains committed to giving borrowers discharges when the evidence shows their college violated the law and standards,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Students count on their colleges to be truthful. Unfortunately, today’s findings show too many instances in which students were misled into loans at institutions or programs that could not deliver what they’d promised.”
The agency said Wednesday it plans to force the school to cover the cost of the $71.7 million in loan discharges.
DeVry said it disagrees with the agency's conclusions.
Borrower defense discharges were also announced for some students who attended Corinthian Colleges, Marinello Schools of Beauty, Minnesota School of Business and/or Globe University, the nursing program at ITT Technical Institute and Westwood College.
