Array
The Biden administration said Wednesday that it has approved the cancellation of more than $6.1 billion in student loan debt held by 317,000 borrowers who previously attended The Art Institutes, a now-defunct network of for-profit colleges.
The Department of Education found that the schools misled prospective students about graduates’ job placement rates and average salaries.
The administration is using its authority under an existing federal student loan program, known as borrower defense to repayment, which makes borrowers eligible for debt relief if they have been defrauded by their college.
As the November election approaches, President Joe Biden has been touting how it has become easier for many borrowers to qualify for federal student debt relief since he took office. The administration has been sending emails directly to those who are newly eligible.
RELATED: President Biden’s latest plan for student loan cancellation moves forward as proposed regulation
« While my predecessor looked the other way when colleges defrauded students and borrowers, I promised to take this on directly to provide borrowers with the relief they need and deserve, » Biden said in a statement Wednesday.
A total of almost $160 billion in student loan debt for nearly 4.6 million borrowers has been canceled under Biden to date. That’s 10% of all outstanding federal student loan debt.
Wednesday’s announcement is one of the biggest group discharges made under the borrower defense program and follows multiple investigations by attorney general offices in Iowa, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania into The Art Institutes and its parent company Education Management Corporation, known as EDMC.
