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In December 2018, the Department of Education announced that it would begin implementing its “borrower defense” final rule which was published in November 2016.  In addition to its provisions that address a student’s ability to assert a school’s misconduct as a defense to repayment of a federal student loan and its ban on all pre-dispute…

The Department of Education has announced the new federal student loan interest rates for 2019-2020.  For the first time in three years, interest rates on federal student loans will decrease.  Rates for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans (for undergraduate students) will fall to 4.53 percent, down from 5.05 percent for the 2018-2019 academic year.  …

In a letter sent to Senator Elizabeth Warren regarding the CFPB’s supervision of student loan servicers, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger discussed the Bureau’s relationship with the Department of Education.

In the letter, Director Kraninger responded to a question from Senator Warren regarding the guidance issued by the ED in December 2017 to student loan servicers…

A Federal Register entry published last week details a proposed data-sharing arrangement between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Education (DoE) designed to reduce the amount of interest that certain active duty service members pay on federal student loans.

In 2008, Congress amended the Higher Education Act to provide for the removal…

Last month, the Department of Education issued guidance on implementation of its “borrower defense” final rule that was issued in November 2016 and the subject of litigation that resulted in an October 2018 federal district court ruling requiring the Department to implement the rule.

Among the final rule’s provisions is a ban on all predispute…

The Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC)—an organization established by former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman—recently published an article examining the Department of Education’s oversight of “lead generators.”  Lead generators are outside entities that help for-profit colleges manage “pre-enrollment activities” such as “recruiting and advising students,” “determining eligibility for federal aid,” and “delivering…

The “borrower defense” final rule (Final Rule) issued by the Dept. of Education in November 2016 took effect at noon yesterday after Judge Randolph D. Moss of the D.C. federal district court refused to grant the renewed motion for a preliminary injunction filed by the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools (CAPPS) seeking to preliminary…

Following a remand from the D.C. federal district court, Department of Education (ED) Secretary Betsy DeVos has issued an order restoring the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools’ (ACICS) status as a federally recognized accrediting agency.

ACICS accredits for-profit colleges, whose access to federal student loan funds is contingent on becoming, and remaining, accredited…

The Department of Education has published a request for information in today’s Federal Register seeking comment on the factors used to evaluate claims of undue hardship made by student loan borrowers attempting to discharge student loans through adversary proceedings in bankruptcy court.  Responses to the RFI must be received by May 22, 2018.

Under the…

The Department of Education, in an issue paper submitted as part of negotiated rulemaking on its final “borrower defense” rule, is proposing to require schools that use pre-dispute arbitration agreements and class action waivers in agreements with students to provide disclosures to students regarding their use of such agreements and waivers.

The ED’s proposed approach…