Biden Administration Cancels $5.8 Billion In Student Debt For Corinthian Colleges Students

The Biden administration will forgive $5.8 billion in debt for students who attended any of the branches of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges between 1995 and when it was shut down in 2015.

The Department of Education’s largest cancellation ever will erase debt for over 560,000 students.

Over a hundred campuses were a part of Corinthian Colleges. The fraudulent college chain was found to deceive students on credit transfer policy and the job placement rating.

“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,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said.

Vice President Kamala Harris spearheaded the takedown of Corinthian Colleges as California’s attorney general nearly 10 years ago. In 2013, she sued them under deceptive and false advertising and recruitment tactics. She won $1.1 billion on behalf of students in the case.

Before this move, many former students were already eligible to apply for debt cancellation, but the application process was deemed confusing. Now, the debt will automatically be forgiven. Students who are currently in the process of paying off their loans will also be refunded on already placed payments, but there will be no refunds for those who already paid off their student loans.