Durbin Enlists Allies On The Frontlines In The Fight Against Predatory For-Profit Colleges
Press Release
With the Class of 2015 ready to graduate from high schools across Illinois, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) wrote today to principals, counselors, and teachers throughout the state asking for their help in the fight to protect students from being lured into enrolling in a for-profit college and all too often "[finding] their dream has turned into a nightmare when they end up with a worthless degree that employers don't even recognize, credits that don't transfer, and almost twice the average debt of their fellow students who attended traditional public schools." Durbin wrote to principals in Illinois last year with a similar plea, and received an outpouring of support from educators who share his concerns regarding the dangers of the for-profit college industry.
"Since I last wrote you, we have witnessed the single greatest collapse of a for-profit college in history and seen the devastating effect it has had on students," Durbin wrote. "Many other for-profit colleges are facing increased scrutiny from federal and state agencies for a variety of abuses including fraudulent marketing and recruiting practices, falsifying job placement rates, and predatory lending practices. I ask you to use your position in Illinois' high schools to ensure your students have the information necessary to protect themselves from the worst players in this industry, including information on investigations and lawsuits by government agencies."
In today's letter, Durbin asked Illinois principals, counselors, and teachers to ensure that students are receiving honest and accurate information about their higher education options, and that they are aware of the risks associated with the for-profit college industry. Durbin urged the educators to make their students aware of all of their options for accessible, affordable higher education, including programs at community college and other not-for-profit institutions.
"The Illinois Principals Association (IPA) appreciates Senator Durbin raising this critical issue and holding institutions accountable that choose profits over doing what is best for their students. A person's education and lifelong success is too important to be exploited," said Jason Leahy, Executive Director of the Illinois Principals Association.
Organizations helping to distribute today's letter to their members include the Illinois Principals Association, the Illinois Education Association, the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, and the American Federation of Teachers.
Yesterday, Durbin led a group of Senators in calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the misconduct of the recently failed for-profit education company Corinthian Colleges, Inc. and of its executive leadership. Citing a claim that the Department of Education has limited tools for holding individual executives responsible for any misconduct of the recently failed Corinthian Colleges, the group called it critical that Attorney General Loretta Lynch get to the bottom of whether the for-profit college and its executives violated federal civil or criminal laws.
Yesterday, Career Education Corporation announced that it will close or sell all but two of its schools and Education Management Corporation will close 15 of its Art Institute schools. The announcement follows news earlier this week that Corinthian Colleges, Inc. formally filed for bankruptcy -- days after closing its remaining 28 campuses and leaving 16,000 students in the lurch. At the time of closure, they were still participating in the federal Title IV program -- receiving taxpayer dollars and in several states, continuing to enroll new students. Corinthian was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and at least 20 state Attorneys General, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. They were sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state Attorneys General of California, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin for false and misleading advertisements. All the while, the institution raked in more than a billion dollars from taxpayers a year.
In addition, six for-profit colleges currently operating in Illinois are under investigation by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan or at least one of four federal agencies according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. According to a chart published by the Chronicle of Higher Education and other publicly available information, the following for-profit companies that operate campuses or programs in Illinois are facing active investigations or lawsuits by the Illinois Attorney General and/or federal agencies:
Career Education Corporation -- operates International Academy of Design and Technology, American Intercontinental University, Harrington College of Design, Le Cordon Bleu, Sanford Brown
DeVry, Inc.
Education Management Corporation -- operates The Illinois Institutes of Art, Argosy University, Brown Mackie
ITT Educational Services, Inc. -- operates ITT Technical Institutes
Kaplan -- operates Kaplan University Online
Alta Colleges, Inc. -- operates Westwood College
The report also found that ten for-profit colleges are under investigation by at least one of the 22 states attorneys general that have an investigation open into a for-profit college including Career Education Corporation, Corinthian Colleges Inc. Education Management Corporation and ITT which are under investigation in 17, 20, 17 and 16 states respectively.
The for-profit college industry receives more than $25 billion in federal dollars which is enough funding to make it the ninth largest federal agency. While they enroll only about 10% of all college students, they take in 20% of the Department of Education's federal student aid funds and account for 44% of student loan defaults.
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