share this article!

Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States (Photo courtesy of Getty Images/Scott Olson)
courtesy of Getty Images
Today, the Biden administration revoked another $55 million in student loans, bringing the total number of student loans cancelled to $1.5 billion.
Here’s what you should know about it, as well as what it implications for your student loans.
More students will receive full student debt cancellation today, according to the US Department of Education. Here’s how to get $55.6 million in student loan forgiveness.
More than 1,800 people have taken out college loans.
Borrowers who attended Westwood College, Marinello Schools of Beauty, and the Court Reporting Institute are affected by a 100 percent full student loan cancellation based on borrower defense to repayment demands.
With today’s cancellation of student loans, Biden has now eliminated more than $1.5 billion in student debts due to borrower defense to repayment, assisting 92,000 students.

The Education Department has approved a borrower defense claim for students who attended a school other than Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute, or American Career Institute for the first time since 2017.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the Department of Education’s commitment to standing up for students whose universities have taken advantage of them,” stated Miguel Cardona, the US Secretary of Education. “The Department will continue to do its role in expeditiously and fairly reviewing and approving borrower defense claims so that borrowers can get the help they need and deserve. We also hope that these approvals serve as a message to any institution that engages in similar behavior that misrepresentation is not acceptable.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR YOU

Why were these student loan debtors able to get their loans forgiven? Their claims are based on the borrower’s repayment defense. Borrower defense to repayment is a federal statute that went into effect during the Obama administration that permits you to get your student loans cancelled if your college or university misled or deceived you. Borrower defense is only available for federal student loans. Borrower defense applies to Direct Loans, but it does not apply to FFELP or Perkins Loans. One reason is that student loan forgiveness is not available to everyone. The good news is that if you have FFELP or Perkins Loans, you may still be eligible for borrower defense to repayment. How? Consolidate your Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) or Perkins Loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. For further information, contact your student loan servicer.

According to the Department of Education:
Westwood College has cancelled $53 million in student loans for 1,600 debtors.
First, the Education Department discovered that from 2002 to 2015, all of Westwood’s campuses made pervasive misrepresentations about students’ ability to transfer credits to other colleges and universities. Second, from 2004 to 2015, Westwood misled students about its criminal justice program’s ability to lead to careers as police officers in Illinois, notably in Chicago. The Chicago Police Department, on the other hand, refused to accept Westwood credits in their employment process. Students were “worse off” after attending Westwood, according to the Education Department.
Marinello Schools of Beauty has cancelled $2.2 million in student loans for 200 debtors.
Marinello Schools of Beauty made significant misrepresentations about the training that would be delivered at its campuses across the country from 2009 until its closure in 2016, according to the Education Department. Students alleged that, despite being a beauty school, the institution failed to teach the fundamentals of cosmetology, such as how to trim hair. Marinello often left students without teachers for weeks or months, making it difficult for them to complete state licensure exams, according to the Education Department.
The Court Reporting Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving
18 debtors have had their student loans cancelled for a total of $340,000.
The Education Department discovered that Court Reporting Institute committed significant misrepresentations regarding the time it would take students to finish its court reporting program from 1998 through its closure in 2006. The Department’s investigation revealed that just 2% to 6% of students graduated, and those who did completing the program took significantly longer than the institution indicated.

Biden has erased roughly $3 billion in student debt since taking office in January:
For 72,000 student loan students, Biden annulled $1 billion in student loans.
For 41,000 borrowers with total and permanent disability, Biden cancelled another $1.3 billion in student loans.
Student loan relief was granted by Biden to 1.1 million borrowers who had defaulted on their FFELP loans.
Under the borrower defense to student loan repayment regulation, Biden today eliminated $500 million in student loan debt for 18,000 borrowers.

Is this a game-changer in terms of student loan forgiveness? While this revelation only affects a small portion of the 45 million people who have student loans, the good news is that more loans will be cancelled. Biden may eliminate student loans in at least four different ways. There are also a number of initiatives aimed at assisting student loan borrowers in obtaining more loan cancellations. First, Biden has concentrated on targeted student loan cancellation in order to assist specific categories of student loan borrowers. One example is a borrower’s defense to repayment. Second, the Education Department is developing a legal paper for Biden that will assess the president’s authority to cancel student loan debt without further congressional approval. This could lead to a large-scale cancellation of student loans or other forms of student loan forgiveness, such as student loan relief. Third, five amendments to the cancellation of student loans have been proposed by Democrats in Congress. Fourth, the Education Department held hearings on student loans, which may have an impact on how student loan payments and forgiveness are handled in the future. Fifth, Biden may prolong the temporary suspension of student loans through September 30, 2021.
If you’re paying off student loans, make sure you’re aware of all your repayment alternatives. If you qualify for student loan forgiveness, it may or may not cover all of your debts. Here are a few popular alternatives:

Is this a game-changer in terms of student loan forgiveness?
Biden may prolong student loan forgiveness beyond September 30, but he faces a significant problem.
Democrats propose five amendments to the cancellation of student loans.
The Supreme Court has denied the cancellation of student loans — here’s what happened./nRead More

share this article!