In a shocking report, a review of Education Department data found that 49 percent of African-American students who borrowed for their undergraduate education are in default on their federal student loan. Those who entered college in the 2003-04 academic year owed more than they originally borrowed 12 years later.
Adding to this crisis, the Trump administration is expected to end an Obama-era federal student loan forgiveness policy for those who were defrauded by for-profit colleges, The Hill reported.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is considering a plan that offers only partial debt relief for students.
The Obama administration banned some schools, such as ITT Technical Institute, last year from enrolling students who received federal aid. That came in the aftermath of investigations concluding that some career colleges mislead students about their job prospects and charged high tuition rates, while providing substandard education.
Under the Obama debt forgiveness policy, defrauded students were fully forgiven. According to The Hill, the program impacted tens of thousands of students and would have erased approximately $550 million in loans.
It’s not lost on many observers that students sued President Donald Trump’s own for-profit school—Trump University. Before taking office, the president agreed to settle the lawsuit for $25 million. The former students claimed that the school misrepresented the quality of education and instructors at the real estate school—leaving many of them in major debt.