Let Higher Ed Dive’s free newsletter keep you informed, straight from your inbox.
The Sweet v. Cardona lawsuit was brought by students who say the Education Department has mishandled their claims under the borrower defense to repayment regulation, which grants debt relief to borrowers defrauded by their colleges. They said the Education Department delayed decisions on their claims, leaving them saddled with student loans.
As part of the proposed settlement, the Education Department named colleges whose students would receive automatic relief, arguing that these institutions are marked by “strong indicia” that they carried out misconduct or have high rates of borrower defense applications. Several of the listed colleges contested those arguments in court documents.
In the update to the list, the Education Department removed four colleges that were accidentally included “based on clerical errors,” it said in court documents. Those are ATI College, Missouri College of Cosmetology North, Hallmark University and International Technical Institute.
Joe Fisher, president of Hallmark University, said in an email that the institution learned about its inclusion on the list recently and began examining how it happened. Shortly afterward, university officials found the error was already being fixed.
“We are disappointed about the error but pleased it was identified and corrected,” Fisher said. Hallmark is a nonprofit in San Antonio that enrolled 923 students last year.
ATI College and the Missouri College of Cosmetology North, both for-profits, did not respond to requests for comment.
The Education Department’s settlement proposal listed Lincoln Educational Services as the corporate parent of International Technical Institute. But a spokesperson for the company said in an email that it does not own the institution and has never had an affiliation with it.
International Technical Institute closed in the early 1990s, according to the Education Department’s database of closed institutions.
Two other Lincoln-owned institutions are listed as covered by the Sweet v. Cardona settlement.
The Education Department also said it was adding one institution, Missouri College. The agency explained that it was the school it “intended to include when it inadvertently listed Missouri College of Cosmetology North instead.”
Alsup’s ruling ordered the parties to notify class members of the changes by updating their websites with the new version of the list.
Higher Ed Dive has also updated a list of institutions named in the settlement posted as part of our news coverage.
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts
Vanderbilt University chalks up carbon emissions cuts to efficiency, energy sourcing and, yes, travel changes. Here's what other college leaders can do.
Indiana University Northwest did not support academic governance and faculty of color, AAUP finds. Jackson State faculty vote no-confidence in president.
Subscribe to Higher Ed Dive for top news, trends & analysis
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts
Vanderbilt University chalks up carbon emissions cuts to efficiency, energy sourcing and, yes, travel changes. Here's what other college leaders can do.
Indiana University Northwest did not support academic governance and faculty of color, AAUP finds. Jackson State faculty vote no-confidence in president.
The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines