Ending Predatory Student Lending Practices

In some of the most egregious instances, students are forced to pay back public loans even when a college closes or loses its accreditation.

By the: Communications Team

Topic

Higher Education Quality and Accountability

Published

Dec 01, 2017

Sign up for our newsletter

Harvard University’s Legal Services Center is currently working with students who attended schools operated by the now defunct ITT Educational Services. (Michael Conroy/The Associated Press)

For-profit colleges and universities are trapping students in a cycle of debt by charging high tuition rates without providing the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the workforce. In some of the most egregious instances, students are forced to pay back public loans even when a college closes or loses its accreditation. We funded the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard University’s Legal Services Center to represent students in borrower defense claims. The center is currently working with students who attended schools operated by the now defunct ITT Educational Services and is seeking an injunction to stop the college from collecting loans made directly to individuals as well as restitution for students in bankruptcy proceedings.

This story is part of the 2017 Annual Report See Report

More from Higher Education Quality and Accountability

Another Unaccredited, For-Profit School, Another Lawsuit Q&A

UnidosUs’ Amanda Martinez is Elevating the Voices of Latinos in Higher Education Women's History Month

Lanae Erickson sitting on bright blue couch.

Third Way’s Lanae Erickson is Standing Up Against Injustice Women's History Month

Video: Is College Worth It? Effective Student Success Practices

Who To Watch in 2022 Look Ahead

5 Things to Watch in Higher Education, Contraceptives, Evidence-Based Policy, Organ Donation, and Democracy in 2022 Look Ahead

5 Ways the Department of Education Can Protect Students in 2022 Higher Education Quality and Accountability

Story subject Jamie Murillo standing in middle of residential street with houses on either side of him.

‘It’s Like You Want to Wake Up From a Bad Nightmare’ Shattered: Faces of the For-Profit College Crisis

Maximizing Opportunity, Minimizing Injustice for Our Nation’s Veterans Drug Prices

Marie Johnson-Lattier sitting at a table.

‘I Refuse to Pay for Something I Didn’t Get’ Shattered: Faces of the For-Profit College Crisis

Marina Awed sitting at a table in her kitchen.

‘No One Was Representing the Students’ Shattered: Faces of the For-Profit College Crisis

‘I Had to Look at My Wife and Tell Her They Just Took Our Home’ Shattered: Faces of the For-Profit College Crisis

Man standing in front of outdoor playground.

‘It’s Hard to Put Into Words How Betrayed I Feel’ Shattered: Faces of the For-Profit College Crisis

‘This $50,000 Piece of Paper is Actually Completely Worthless’ Shattered: Faces of the For-Profit College Crisis

What’s Broken and What Works in Online Learning Q&A

Protecting Students from ‘Quick’ Underperforming Programs Q&A

How A Legal Organization is Defending Defrauded Student Borrowers Higher Education Quality and Accountability

‘All of What They Promised Me Was a Lie’: Eynelys Garcia’s Devry University Story Q&A

Podcast: Higher Education’s Accountability Crisis Deep Dive with Laura Arnold

‘I Was Trying To Lift Myself Up By The Bootstrap, But I Got Cement Shoes Instead’ Q&A

Grants

Arnold Ventures funds projects to understand problems and identify policy solutions.

See All Grants

More from Higher Education Quality and Accountability

What are you looking for?

Grants