Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Education
Durbin Statement On California State Approving Agency Denying Ashford University's Application For Approval
CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education (CSAAVE) denied Ashford University's application to be approved in the state of California - a requirement for maintaining its eligibility to receive GI Bill benefits nationally: "Ashford University has a long history of exploiting the men and women who have served our country in uniform in order to pocket millions in federal GI Bill education benefit… Continue Reading
02.08.18
Durbin Announces Spring 2018 Recipient Of The Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced Angie Hines, a college senior from the Southside of Chicago, as the second recipient of the Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program. This scholarship, open to students from Illinois or those studying in Illinois, is an opportunity for the students to receive financial assistance while obtaining a first-hand experience in Senator Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. The program was created in honor of Durbin's former Chief of Staff who passed aw… Continue Reading
01.30.18
Durbin: Higher Education Act Reauthorization Must Protect Students And Taxpayers From Predatory For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - As the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) continues to hold hearings on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) to focus the Senate's debate on two very important topics - accountability and taxpayer risk, especially as it relates to for-profit colleges. While for-profit colleges enroll only nine percent of a… Continue Reading
01.10.18
Durbin, Senators Press Education Department's FSA Chief For Details On Student Loan Disbursement Prepaid Card Pilot Program
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) pressed Dr. Wayne Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), for additional information on a proposed pilot program that would disburse student financial aid through a prepaid card product. In a letter to Dr. Johnson, the lawmakers expressed that if FSA proceeds with a pilot program, it will n… Continue Reading
12.20.17
Durbin Statement on DeVos Decision to Slash Student Loan Relief For Defrauded Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos announced a new discharge process for borrower defense to repayment (BDR) claims that will lead to only partial debt relief for students who have been defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges and universities. Under the Obama Administration, complete student loan forgiveness was granted. "So let me get this straight: Secretary DeVos pro… Continue Reading
12.19.17
Durbin to DeVos: Where are gainful employment debt-to-earnings rates?
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Secretary Betsy DeVos on its development and future public release of the second round of debt-to-earnings rates under the Gainful Employment (GE) Rule. The Gainful Employment Rule, which has been in effect since July 1, 2015, uses debt-to-earnings rates to determine which career education programs meet the statutory requirement that they prepare their students for "gainful employ… Continue Reading
12.13.17
Durbin, Reed Press DoD to Release Contracts between For-Profit Colleges & Military Installations
WASHINGTON-Following a Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) investigation published in September 2017 revealing a contract between the University of Phoenix and Fort Campbell, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) requested copies of all currently effective and expired contracts between Department of Defense (DoD) military installations and for-profit colleges going back to Calendar Year 2012. In their report, CIR found that the University of Phoenix paid Fort Campbell $250,… Continue Reading
11.21.17
Durbin, Senators Press DOD And VA To Protect Veterans And Service Members At Ashford University
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today urged the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take steps to protect service members using Tuition Assistance (TA) benefits and veterans using GI Bill benefits at Ashford University in light of the company's impending loss of VA Pos… Continue Reading
11.14.17
Durbin, Warren Release Report Highlighting Secretary DeVos' Failure To Cancel Student Loans Of Nearly 90,000 Defrauded Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today released a report - "Insult to Injury: How the DeVos Department of Education is Failing Defrauded Students" - detailing how the Department of Education (ED) and Secretary Betsy DeVos have failed tens of thousands of Americans by refusing to cancel the loans of students who were defrauded by predatory colleges. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Sens. Durbin and Warren, along with 13 of their Senate colleagues, in… Continue Reading
11.09.17
Durbin, Senators Reintroduce Military And Veterans Education Protection Act With Groundbreaking Support From Veterans Service Organizations
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Jon Tester (D-MT) today to reintroduce the Military and Veterans Education Protection Act, legislation that would close a loophole that allows for-profit schools to avoid having to secure at least 10 percent of their revenue from non-federal sources. "This bill is one of many commonsense reforms we need to bring greater accountability to a for-profit industry that en… Continue Reading
11.09.17
Durbin Statement On Zenith Education Campus Closures
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after learning that Education Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) Group's Zenith Education will close all but three of the remaining campuses of the collapsed for-profit chain, Corinthian Colleges. In 2015, ECMC Group spent $24 million for 56 Everest and WyoTech campuses and online programs - which accounted for 40,000 students - that were on the verge of immediate closure by the predatory Corinthian Colleges. … Continue Reading
10.31.17
Durbin, Cohen, Colleagues: Congress Should End Loophole That Encourages For-Profit Colleges To Target Veterans And Service Members
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) were joined by U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) today to introduce bicameral legislation that would help put an end to the for-profit college industry's aggressive recruiting of veterans, service members, and their families. The Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act would prohibit for-profit colleges and universities … Continue Reading
10.24.17
Durbin Presses VA Secretary To Protect Veterans From Predatory For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin to discuss recent VA proposals related to the financial relationships of its employees with for-profit colleges and the for-profit college industry's shameful record of preying on veterans. In 2016, for-profit colleges received 34 percent of all VA GI Bill education funds or $1.7 billion - often using aggressive recruiting and misleading marketing to target veterans. "For-pr… Continue Reading
10.17.17
Durbin Statement On State AG's Suit Against Secretary DeVos' Failure To Enforce Gainful Employment Rule
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after 18 State Attorneys General, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, today filed suit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for her delay of and failure to enforce the Gainful Employment (GE) rule. The GE rule is meant to ensure that career education programs prepare their students for jobs that allow them to earn enough to pay off the debt they accumulate to attend the program. To deter… Continue Reading
10.05.17
Durbin, Franken Introduce Bill To Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness To Adjunct Professors
WASHINGTON - At a time when adjunct faculty members now make up a majority of higher education instructors nationwide, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Al Franken (D-MN) today introduced legislation that would allow part-time faculty at colleges and universities across the country - who are often paid low wages with few benefits - to be eligible to participate in the federal student loan forgiveness program for public servants. In Illinois, more than half of all faculty at public and non-pr… Continue Reading
10.02.17
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than 790,000 In Federal Funding To Strengthen Math & Science Skills Of Illinois Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Family Centered Educational Agency, Inc., and Carl Sandburg College a total of $791,814 through the Upward Bound Math and Science program. The Upward Bound Math and Science program is designed to strengthen the math and science skills of participating students. The goal of the program is to help students recognize … Continue Reading
09.28.17
Durbin, Brown Caution Purdue University Amid Bid To Purchase Predatory For-Profit College
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today cautioned Purdue University President Mitch Daniels of Kaplan University's shameful record as part of a for-profit college industry that has become known for systemic fraud and predatory practices. In a letter to President Daniels, Durbin and Brown stressed that Purdue's embrace of Kaplan through their bid to purchase the for-profit giant poses major risks for Purdue's current students and the institution's reputation as… Continue Reading
09.26.17
Durbin, Franken, King, Polis, Sinema Introduce Bicameral Legislation To Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), and Angus King (I-ME) along with U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO-02) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ-09) today introduced bicameral legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. This bill, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would create a competitive grant program to support the creation and expand the use of open c… Continue Reading
09.19.17
Durbin Creates Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program For Illinois Students Interning in DC
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced the establishment of the Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program in honor of his former Chief of Staff who passed away in March due to complications with Parkinson's disease. This scholarship, open to students from Illinois or those studying in Illinois, is an opportunity for the students to receive financial assistance while obtaining a first-hand experience in Senator Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "Ed knew everybody in Washington by n… Continue Reading
08.03.17
Durbin To DeVos: Why Won't You Stand Up For Students And Hold For-Profit Colleges Accountable?
WASHINGTON-In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' decision to delay the implementation of the Gainful Employment (GE) rule, which requires career training programs to provide students with reasonable return on their educational investment - good-paying jobs that allow them to repay their student debt. In March, the Department of Education announced it would postpone the deadline for failing schools to submit … Continue Reading