AG Balderas Announces Education Department's Approval of $3.9 Billion Group Discharge for 208,000 Borrowers Who Attended ITT Technical Institute

Category: Non-Local News Releases Non-Local News Releases
Published: 16 August 2022 16 August 2022

ALBUQUERQUE — Today, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announces the U.S. Department of Education (Department) will discharge all remaining federal student loans that borrowers received to attend ITT Technical Institute (ITT) from January 1, 2005, through its closure in September 2016. The decision, which follows Departmental findings based on extensive internal records, testimony from ITT managers and recruiters, and first-hand accounts from borrowers, will result in 208,000 borrowers receiving $3.9 billion in full loan discharges. This includes borrowers who have not yet applied for a borrower defense to repayment discharge. These borrowers will have the federal student loans they received to attend ITT discharged without any additional action on their part. This equates to approximately $38.8 million in loan forgiveness for 1,950 New Mexicans who attended ITT from 2005 through 2016.

“ITT ripped off New Mexican students who were pursuing higher education, and I am pleased that our litigation team partnered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education in providing financial relief to our students to help them in their future,” said Attorney General Balderas.

The Department’s findings around ITT were assisted by significant evidence from Attorney General Balderas’ case against the school. When ITT closed in 2016, AG Balderas was engaged in litigation against the school for deceiving students by lying about the accreditation of its nursing program. After the closure, AG Balderas continued to fight for New Mexico consumers by pursuing the school through bankruptcy and working with other state attorneys general and federal agencies to secure relief for the students harmed by ITT’s predatory practices. The Department also received significant evidence from the Iowa Attorney General and important evidence from half the country’s state offices of attorneys general, led by Colorado and Oregon Attorneys General.

Today’s ITT announcement builds on the Administration’s previous actions related to ITT, also supported and assisted by AG Balderas, which has resulted in the approval of $1.9 billion in discharges for 130,000 students to date. This includes borrower defense findings that ITT engaged in widespread and pervasive misrepresentations related to the ability of students to get a job or transfer credits, and lying about the programmatic accreditation of ITT’s associate degree in nursing. 

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.