July 20, 2020

For-Profit Colleges Race To Block Students From Suing Them

Donald Trump and his education secretary Betsy DeVos, over the objections of bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress, recently rewrote a key federal regulation so that going forward it will be almost impossible for former students who were deceived and ripped off by their colleges to have their federal loans cancelled, even though a
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August 4, 2016

Twist: DeVry Goes to Court To Stop Students From Bringing Arbitration

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For years, DeVry University, like other big for-profit colleges, forced its students to sign agreements that they would take any dispute with the school to private arbitration, rather than sue in court. When, this year, it appeared that the U.S. Department of Education was moving in the direction of banning or limiting such mandatory arbitration agreements
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May 19, 2016

University of Phoenix Won’t Force Students to Arbitrate Claims; Scope Unclear

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The University of Phoenix just announced that it will no longer require students to agree when enrolling to give up their rights to pursue in court any disputes with the school. Many for-profit colleges have used such fine-print clauses to force any complaint into secret arbitration proceedings that tend to be stacked against students and
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April 28, 2016

Case Builds Against For-Profit Colleges Denying Students Legal Rights

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In recent months, leading Members of Congress, state attorneys general, and non-profit groups have called on the Department of Education to stop colleges that receive federal student aid from forcing students to resolve disputes with their schools in secret arbitration proceedings. (I’ve been active in this advocacy effort.)  After decades of neglecting this issue, the Department
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March 18, 2016

Strong Mandatory Arbitration Ban on For-Profit Colleges in Peril

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Last Friday the Department of Education took a strong stand in favor of banning colleges that receive federal student aid from forcing students to bring disputes with their schools into secret arbitration proceedings, rather than allowing students to go to court.  Today in the middle of the last day of the negotiated rulemaking session on
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November 3, 2015

“The Good Wife” and the Bad College

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As approximately 900 people have kindly informed me in the past 36 hours, the CBS drama “The Good Wife” on Sunday highlighted the struggles of students seeking legal redress for abuses they suffered at the hands of high-priced, low quality for-profit colleges. I appreciated the tip, and I’m impressed to see how well “The Good Wife” brought to
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