Student Defense applauds Department of Education’s crackdown on deceptive for-profit graduate programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2023

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Student Defense applauds Department of Education’s crackdown on deceptive for-profit graduate programs

One in three American graduate schools leave their students owing more in student loans than they originally borrowed, and over a quarter of graduate students enrolled in programs with unaffordable debts are currently in for-profit programs. 

In 2021, in response to the growing crisis of deceptive for-profit graduate school programs, Student Defense filed a class-action lawsuit against Walden University for targeting Black students and women who had enrolled in their doctorate of business administration program.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced one of its first major enforcement actions against a fraudulent graduate school, fining Grand Canyon University for misleading students about the cost of their graduate programs. In response, Student Defense President Aaron Ament released the following statement: 

“Deceptive for-profit graduate programs are a large and growing part of America’s higher education crisis. When colleges lie to students, it costs them time and money they’ll never get back. We’re glad to see the Department of Education take action to prevent graduate schools from misleading students about the costs of their programs, and we hope they will continue to crack down on these types of predatory schemes.”

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