03.12.15

Durbin: Congress Can't Continue To Look The Other Way As For-Profit College Industry Exploits Students, Fleeces Taxpayers

Senator critical of ECMC; Says new owner of defunct Corinthian Colleges is already failing to live up to promises

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that Congress can’t continue to look the other way when it comes to abuses by the for-profit colleges that - in some cases - take in more than 90% of their revenue from the federal government yet account for these startling lopsided statistics.

For-profit colleges:

  • Educate 10% of students;

 

  • Receive 20% of all federal aid to education; yet are

 

  • Responsible for 44% of all student loan defaults.

 

“How can we continue to give these outrageous, scandalous subsidies to these worthless companies? It’s time for us to do something about this.  Shame on us for making speeches about reducing the deficit and helping struggling students while we ignore the obvious.  The for-profit college industry needs to be thoroughly investigated and carefully monitored,” said Durbin.

 

“Take ECMC - the new owner of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. - which told me they would eliminate practices of the for-profit college industry like requiring binding, mandatory arbitration for students – a promise they have already failed to live up to in the fine print of their enrollment contract.  It’s clear now that ECMC has missed an opportunity to do the right thing and help regain the trust of students scarred by their Corinthian experience.  In their deal with the Department of Education, ECMC has ensured that students who are wronged have to challenge the school alone and cannot make their case in front of a jury of their peers.”

 

Video of Durbin’s floor statement will be available shortly here.