Durbin Statement On For-Profit Agrosy University Losing Title IV Funding
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Department of Education announced that Argosy University, a for-profit college, will no longer receive Title IV funding:
The downfall of Argosy University has been a long time coming—from its days as part of the predatory for-profit Education Management Corporation, to its mismanagement under Dream Center and the federal receivership, and the Department’s complicity at every step. About 800 students in Illinois are affected. The Department of Education must immediately step up to work with accreditors and states to establish options for students to continue their studies at high-quality institutions. I’m also calling on the Department to immediately notify Argosy students of their option for federal closed school discharge should Argosy close—which is likely—and to extend the window for students to be eligible.
Last week, Durbin and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) called on the Department of Education Inspector General to investigate reports that students are owed millions in federal student loan funds and the Department’s handling of the Dream Center case. Durbin was an early critic of the Dream Center’s bid to acquire predatory for-profit Education Management Corporation campuses, including Argosy.
In August 2018, Durbin led a group of Senators pushing Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to assist students after Dream Center announced the closure of 30 campuses nationwide.
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