Biden also waived $3.9 billion in student loans tied to the chain of universities

Students who received federal loans to attend graduate school ITT Institute of Technology since 2005 will automatically have those loans forgiven after officials found ‘widespread and widespread misrepresentations’ at the defunct university chain, the Biden administration announced Tuesday.

The Education Department said the measure would forgive $3.9 billion in federal student loans for 208,000 borrowers. The loan is forgiven using a federal provision known as borrower protection, which is intended to protect college and university students who make false advertising or commit fraud.

“Over the years, evidence has shown that ITT administrators intentionally misled students about the quality of their programs so that they could take advantage of federal student loan programs regardless of the problems that resulted,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

Loans for 1.6 million borrowers have been written off

The move adds to a growing list of student loan waivers under the Biden administration — a similar move in June promised to erase $5.8 billion in debt tied to Corinthian Colleges. However, no sign of widespread cancellation of student loans has been given.

President Joe Biden The presidential candidate has promoted student loan forgiveness and has been considering for months a waiver of up to $10,000 per borrower. He recently promised a decision by the end of August, but Tuesday’s announcement did not convey his thinking.

The government says it has approved nearly $32 billion in student loan retirement for 1.6 million borrowers, with targeted cancellations for specific groups of borrowers.

The new measure will automatically cancel any remaining federal student loans used to attend an ITT technology facility from January 1, 2005, until it closes in 2016.

At its peak, ITT was one of the nation’s largest for-profit university chains with 130 campuses in 38 states. The company was abruptly shut down after facing stiff fines from the Department of Education amid allegations that it pushed students into dangerous debt and misled them about the quality of university programs.

The decision was welcomed by groups representing students.

“This is a life-changing announcement for thousands of people who want to improve their lives and have helped those who trusted the wrong people to do so,” said Libby Webster, senior adviser for Student Protection, a nonprofit organization.

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