In June, The Department of Education announced its intent to cancel $6 billion in student loans for defrauded borrowers. This includes student loans for 200,000 borrowers. 

To be eligible for debt relief, a student will need to file a borrower defense claim against one of the 150-plus colleges listed in the settlement agreement. Click HERE to see the list of institutions. 

Early this month, a federal judge tentatively approved the $6 billion settlement. According to the borrower defense rule, students can receive debt relief if their institutions misled them. Therefore, the deal would automatically grant relief to 200,000 borrowers. 

In court documents, the Department of Education argued that “attendance at one of these schools justifies presumptive relief” because of strong signs that they carried out misconduct, as reported by Higher ED Dive. 

Several of the colleges listed in the settlement took issue with the Department of Education’s arguments. 

The U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona stated “since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to address longstanding issues relating to the borrower defense process,” he said. “We are pleased to have worked with plaintiffs to reach an agreement that will deliver billions of dollars to automatic relief to approximately 200,000 borrowers and that we believe will resolve plaintiffs’ claims in a manner that is fair and equitable for all parties,” reports Higher ED Dive.

College ranking are ‘a joke’

Inside Higher ED reports that “in a speech made at a conference attended by university and college presidents and other leaders in higher education on Thursday, Cardona said that elite rankings are a ‘joke’ and that more attention needs to be focused on the institutions that serve the nation’s less affluent students.” 

“It's a cruel irony that institutions that serve the most students with the most to gain from a college degree have the fewest resources to invest in student success,” he said. Of elite universities, Cardona said, “You compete for the most affluent students by luring them in with generous aid because the most well-prepared students have the best SAT scores and graduate on time. You seek favor from your peers from other elite schools with expensive dinners and lavish events because their opinions carry clout in surveys. And you invest in the best campus experiences that money can buy because the more graduates that become donors, the more points you score.” 

Changes need to be made for students to have the resources needed to thrive in a collegiate environment, especially for underrepresented students’ that are yet to see inclusivity in education. In order for this change to happen, Cardona said leaders in higher education need to “embrace a new vision of college excellence.” 

Many students fall victim of student debt without completing an actual degree by accumulating debt they can’t afford.