The student debt crisis is at a tipping point, with the total outstanding federal student loan debt reaching over $1.61 trillion. For-profit colleges are at the forefront of bad actors exacerbating this crisis.

For-profit colleges are institutions that operate as a business with the primary goal of maximizing profits for investors. They are more likely to engage in fraud and misleading advertising tactics and allow for abrupt mid-semester closures that leave students reeling. Additionally, Black and Hispanic students are overrepresented at for-profit colleges as a result of aggressive and misleading recruiting practices that target communities of color.

The data around for-profit institutions is staggering. For every tuition dollar a for-profit institution collects, an average of just 29 cents is spent on student instruction. In comparison, the average for private colleges is 84 cents and $1.42 at public universities. Moreover, for-profit colleges are intensifying the student loan crisis, as for-profit colleges enroll just 8% of all U.S. students but account for 30% of student loan defaults.

This year, the Department of Education announced that nearly 16,000 borrowers would receive millions in loan repayments after an investigation found that four private for-profit institutions (DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Nursing, and the Minnesota School of Business/Globe University) made deceptive claims about their job placement rates.

Something must be done to hold predatory institutions accountable.

Sign the petition to the Department of Education: Take action against predatory colleges.