McMahon, Like DeVos, Declares Students, Not Scam Colleges, To Be the Fraudsters
Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, billionaire Linda McMahon, has now echoed Trump’s last education secretary, billionaire Betsy DeVos, by claiming that fighting fraud in higher education means going after students, rather than holding accountable the predatory for-profit colleges and wealthy school owners who have repeatedly been caught deceiving students and taxpayers. Trump himself agreed to
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The Senate Shouldn’t Vote on Trump Higher Education Pick without a Hearing
Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, has declined to schedule a hearing prior to a committee vote, set for Thursday, on President Trump’s nominee to be Under Secretary of Education, Nicholas Kent. Having encountered Kent at dozens of Department of Education public hearings over the years,
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Trump Administration Cancels $37 Million Fine Levied Against Grand Canyon U For Deceiving Students
The Donald J. Trump administration, which claims its DOGE-driven reshaping of the federal government is aimed at cutting waste, fraud, and abuse, quietly cancelled a $37 million fine that the Department of Education, under the Biden administration, imposed in 2023 on Grand Canyon University. The fine was levied after Department investigators documented extensive findings that
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Trump Education Dept Says It Will Name Colleges Whose Grads Aren’t Repaying Loans
The Trump Department of Education announced two weeks ago that it planned to go hard at student loan borrowers who have not been repaying, declaring that on May 5 it would resume collections of defaulted loans. It was the previous Trump administration that halted collections, in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. But
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He Gave $1 Million to Elect Trump. The Justice Dept Just Took His For-Profit College To Trial for Fraud (And Lost).
Former for-profit college owner Carl Barney donated more than a million dollars to political committees working to elect Donald Trump in 2024. Yet while the transactional Trump has spent much of his first 100 days taking actions, including through the justice system, that benefit big donors, cronies, and other supporters, the U.S. Justice Department this
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New Washington State Law Punches Hole in Multi-State Pact Shielding Online Colleges
Last week, Washington governor Bob Ferguson signed legislation that will require online, out-of-state colleges that enroll Washington residents to obey the state’s consumer protection laws. State Representative Gerry Pollet, (D-Seattle), sponsor of the legislation, explained in a statement, “Online universities, including many for-profits, who advertise and recruit heavily to entice Washington residents to enroll have sought
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St. Andrews U Says It’s Closing in 10 Days
St. Andrews University, a small liberal arts college in Laurinburg, North Carolina, announced today that it will close in ten days, on May 5. In a statement on the school’s website, the president, Tarun Malik, said, “we have reached a point where financial sustainability is no longer attainable.” It’s a sad day for the school’s
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For-Profit College Corporation Perdoceo Gave Your Tax Dollars to Trump Inaugural Committee
A new report filed with the Federal Election Commission shows that the troubled for-profit college operation Perdoceo Education Corp. donated $50,000 to the 2025 Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. Almost all of Perdoceo’s revenue comes from U.S. taxpayers. The report filed this week by the Trump committee lists, among hundreds of other gifts from corporations and individuals,
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