The Biden administration revealed on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain will have their federal student loans immediately canceled. This action is designed to bring closure to one of the most blatant cases of fraud in American higher learning.
Anyone who attended the now-defunct chain from its inception in 1995 until its demise in 2015 will have their federal student loans dissolved.
According to the agency, it will eliminate $5.8 billion in debt for more than 560,000 debtors, the single largest loan discharge in Education Department history.
“As of today, every student deceived, defrauded and driven into debt by Corinthian Colleges can rest assured that the Biden-Harris Administration has their back and will discharge their federal student loans,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.
“For far too long, Corinthian engaged in the wholesale financial exploitation of students, misleading them into taking on more and more debt to pay for promises they would never keep.”
Former Corinthian students were eligible for debt cancellation, but they had to fill out paperwork and maneuver a puzzling application process. Now, additional borrowers will receive automatic relief.
Education Department officials said those with remaining Corinthian debt will get money back on payments made. This doesn’t apply to paid-off loans.
