For-Profit Colleges

Mar 10, 2021

SBPC and the Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice at the UC Berkeley School of Law Call on the CFPB to Crack Down on Predatory For-Profit Schools

This issue brief, from the SPBC and the Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, examines how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has the authority to take action to crack down on predatory for-profit schools.

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Blogs

Mar 10, 2021

The CFPB Has the Tools to Rein in the Predatory For-Profit College Industry. It’s Time for It to Use Them.

An issue brief published by the SBPC and the Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice at the UC Berkeley School of Law makes clear that the CFPB already has the power to hold for-profit colleges accountable for many of their worst practices and to protect borrowers from abuse.

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Blogs

Jan 11, 2021

The Web of Players and Practices Allowing Predatory For-Profit Schools to Flourish

For years, predatory for-profit schools have plagued the American higher education system, aggressively recruiting students into high-cost, low-quality education and training programs with false promises. As the abuses of this industry continue to come to light, the SBPC has launched investigations into the companies and practices that allow these schools to operate with impunity, raking […]

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Reports

Dec 10, 2020

Affirming Accountability: How the Biden Administration Can Stop the Shady Companies Helping For-Profit Colleges Evade Responsibility for Driving Students Into Default

This issue brief details how for-profit schools work with third-party companies to skirt accountability requirements designed to protect borrowers who attended schools with high default rates.

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Reports

Dec 4, 2020

Combating Exploitative Education: Holding For-Profit Schools Accountable for Civil Rights Violations

This report from the SBPC and Relman Colfax attorneys Stephen Hayes and Andrea Lowe, calls for strengthening and deploying civil rights tools in order to combat predatory practices by for-profit schools.

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News Clips

Oct 22, 2020

Student loan watchdog accuses lender Climb Credit of ‘troubling tactics’

The report by D.C.-based Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) found that the New York-based fintech company’s practices “may place it in violation” of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and other consumer protection laws, according to details shared exclusively with Yahoo Finance.

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News Clips

Aug 28, 2020

PayPal cracks down on for-profit ‘schools’ misrepresenting PayPal Credit

“We have already begun taking action against some of the entities mentioned in the letter that have been found to be using inaccurate or misleading messaging/characterization of our products,” PayPal spokesperson Joe Gallo stated, referring to the letter sent last week from the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), Americans for Financial Reform, Student Debt Crisis and Allied Progress to PayPal CEO Daniel Schulman.

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News Clips

Aug 22, 2020

Consumer Groups Take PayPal to Task Over Student Loan Credit Line

“All of these facets create a very questionable and predatory financing product,” said Seth Frotman, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit advocacy group started by former members of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staff. The credit line illustrates an increasing use of “shadow” student loan debt, he said — funds borrowed for education outside traditional student lending options.

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Press Releases

Aug 21, 2020

PayPal’s Partnerships With Over 150 For-Profit Schools Drive Students to Take on High-Cost Education Debt, Advocates Warn

An SBPC investigation found that PayPal Credit, a high-cost, digital credit product, is offered by over 150 for-profit schools as a means for students to finance tuition.

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Blogs

May 6, 2020

For-Profit School Accountability

States have the power to fight back against the abuses perpetrated by for-profit colleges. States can use their long-standing authorities to protect their residents from being swindled by this multi-billion dollar industry. Read below to see all of the ways states are holding the for-profit school industry accountable.

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Press Releases

Apr 21, 2020

Coalition of Advocates Urge Congressional Oversight Commission to Aggressively Monitor Over $1 Billion in CARES Act Funds Going to For-Profit Schools

Today, a coalition of over 40 consumer advocacy organizations sent a letter to the Congressional Oversight Commission established to oversee CARES Act implementation calling for aggressive monitoring of funds going to for-profit schools.

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EXPLORE MORE

Online Program Managers

Predatory Lending & Private Credit

Shadow student debt

Surveillance Credit & Big Tech

Private Student Lending