President Joe Biden’s administration has announced that it will allocate $72 million to provide support to more than 2,300 student borrowers who have applied for loan relief to cover their degrees at Ashford University, a former for-profit online college in San Diego. The university was found guilty of deceiving its students.
The affected students will be contacted by the Education Department next month to confirm the approval of their applications.
This decision comes after a thorough review by the Education Department of evidence presented by the California Department of Justice, which had won a lawsuit against Ashford and its parent company Zovio last year.
In its ruling on March 3, 2022, the court stated that the defendants had established a high-pressure admissions department solely focused on increasing enrollment numbers.
Ashford and Zovio were also ordered to pay a civil penalty of $22.3 million, which is currently being appealed.
Based on the evidence presented in the lawsuit, which covered the period from March 1, 2009, through April 30, 2020, the Education Department concluded that Ashford and Zovio had made numerous significant misrepresentations that borrowers relied upon to their detriment.
According to a press release by the department, the approved funding of $72 million will cover claims for students who enrolled during the 11-year period and applied for borrower defense with allegations that are supported by the findings of the review.
James Kvaal, the Education Undersecretary, stated that Ashford had utilized high-pressure and deceptive recruiting tactics to attract students. He emphasized that the administration is committed to safeguarding the cheated students, holding the responsible parties accountable, protecting taxpayers, and discouraging future misconduct.
President Biden echoed Kvaal’s sentiments, asserting that his administration will not tolerate colleges preying on students and that they deserve better.
The court findings and the Education Department review revealed that Ashford and Zovio had provided false information about the cost of attendance and the type of financial aid that students would receive, among other things. Additionally, the college falsely compared its degrees to traditional four-year programs, even though it actually took five years to complete bachelor programs.
Moreover, only 25% of Ashford students managed to graduate within an eight-year period, as reported by the Education Department.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the administration’s decision and urged impacted students who have not yet sought relief to do so at the earliest opportunity.
In 2020, the University of Arizona announced its plan to acquire Ashford and rename it as the University of Arizona Global Campus. The acquisition was completed in June of this year.
Although a student loan forgiveness plan proposed by Biden was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier this summer, the administration has approved more than $116 billion in student loan cancellations.
(Source: [Press Release](https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-approves-72-million-borrower-defense-discharges-over-2300-borrowers-who-attended-ashford-university), [Statement](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2023/08/30/us-forgives-72m-student-loans-former-ashford-students), [Article](https://apnews.com/article/student-debt-loans-cancellation-asford-borrower-c4c7e9f1d7d1c88c9bb7ceea1c708cdd))
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