Published: December 2014

Concerns raised about sale of Corinthian Colleges

Coalition: Protect Students and Taxpayers

A coalition of 46 student, consumer, veterans and civil rights groups wrote to the Obama Administration and U.S. Department of Education to oppose the proposed sale of 56 Corinthian Colleges' campuses to ECMC, a nonprofit student loan guarantee agency.

Consumer Action joined advocates in raising a number of concerns regarding the sale of for-profit Corinthian Colleges by student loan servicer ECMC. The sale was announced last month and is being brokered by the Department of Education (ED) after ED imposed stricter financial oversight over Corinthian last summer. The ruling ultimately led to the school's financial downfall. The sale, which department officials back, is expected to close in January.

The letter raises a number of concerns about the proposed sale, including a lack of expertise in the education industry and reports that ECMC has a reputation for using ruthless tactics to hound student borrowers to the point where judges ruled the company was in violation of abusing the bankruptcy process. The group also explains ECMC's proposed twenty percent decrease in tuition is not enough. A number of demands are outlined with the expectation that all will be met in any future sale of Corinthian Colleges.

"The terms of the proposed sale to ECMC would not give students the choice of completing or a fresh start, while leaving the campuses in the hands of a troubled entity with no educational experience," the coalition explained. They called on ED to exercise more flexibility in allowing Corinthian students to seek loan discharges. The letter also suggests stricter terms for an ECMC deal, such as requiring that the campuses meet "gainful employment" regulations for seven years.

Lead Organization

The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS)

Other Organizations

Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) AFL-CIO | American Association of University Professors (AAUP) | The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) | American Federation of Teachers (AFT) | Americans for Financial Reform | Center for Public Interest Law | Center for Responsible Lending Children's Advocacy Institute | NAACP | National Association for College Admission Counseling | National Association of Consumer Advocates | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) | National Consumers League | National Education Association | National Women Veterans Association of America | New Economy Project | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of California Consumers Union | Covenant House | Demos | East Bay Community Law Center | The Education Trust | Generation Progress | Higher Ed, Not Debt | Housing and Economic Rights Advocates | The Institute for College Access & Success | Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America | The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights | League of United Latin American Citizens | Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) | One Wisconsin Now | Paralyzed Veterans of America | Project on Predatory Student Lending of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School | Public Advocates Inc. | Public Citizen | Public Counsel | Public Law Center | Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | Student Debt Crisis | Student Veterans of America United States Student Association | U.S. PIRG | Veterans Education Success | Veterans Student Loan Relief Fund | VetJobs | Vietnam Veterans of America | Woodstock Institute | Young Invincibles

More Information

For more information, please visit Protect Students and Taxpayers' website.

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Concerns raised about sale of Corinthian Colleges   (ECMCSale_December17_2014_FINALREV.pdf)