According to Higher Ed Dive, the U.S. Education Department removed four colleges from its list of institutions whose students receive automatic debt relief under a $6 billion settlement proposal. According to court documents, the institutions were accidentally included “based on clerical errors.” Those are ATI College, Missouri College of Cosmetology North, Hallmark University and International Technical Institute. 

Besides the removals, one institution was added: Missouri College. The agency explained that it was the school it intended to include instead of the previously listed Missouri College of Cosmetology North. 

Last month, U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted preliminary approval of the settlement in the lawsuit Sweet v. Cardona, filed in 2019 by students who say the federal government has mishandled their debt forgiveness claims after they were defrauded by their colleges. 

In the settlement, more than 150 institutions entered the list because they carried out misconduct or had high rates of borrower defense applications. Many of those contested it in court. Last month, Alsup allowed the department to make the updates needed. 

Alsup’s ruling ordered the parties to notify class members of the changes by updating their websites with the new version of the list.

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