Letter to Chuck Hagel, Secretary of the Department of Defense - Failing For-Profit Colleges Recruiting On-Base

Letter

Dear Secretary Hagel:

I write to bring your attention to a troubling story recently reported in the The Marine Times entitled, "Colleges are for sale but they continue to recruit on bases." I ask for your help to bring an immediate end to this misleading recruitment of servicemembers by ensuring that Corinthian is not given direct access to servicemembers.

Corinthian Colleges, Incorporated, parent company of WyoTech, Heald, and Everest Colleges, is facing financial collapse. Its stock is trading at mere pennies, and it faces being kicked off the NASDAQ. After execution of an agreement with the Department of Education to sell or close its 100 or so campuses across the country, it will effectively cease to exist. In addition, the company is under investigation by four federal agencies and 20 State Attorneys General for fraudulent and misleading practices.

In short, this is a company with a dismal record that is now going out of business. Allowing Corinthian to continue to enroll students is highly misleading and grossly negligent of our duty to protect students and unfair to taxpayers. I made these views clear with the Department of Education and hope it takes action quickly to address the problem more broadly. In the meantime, I'm asking you to do your part to protect servicemembers by prohibiting this failing company from participating in on-base job training, education, and career events and fairs.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to continuing to work with you to protect servicemembers from predatory for-profit education companies.

Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin

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