Over 4,000 New Yorkers who are former students of colleges run by ITT Educational Services, Inc. between 2005 and 2016 will have a lot of debt canceled.
The student borrowers, who attended the for-profit colleges run by ITT won that victory thanks to work by Attorney General Letitia James.
She announced Tuesday that over $78 million in federal student loan debt was discharged as result. James joined with other states to file a group discharge application in 2021. The U.S. Department of Education acted after it was received.
ITT had campuses in Syracuse, Albany, and Buffalo.
“Students pursuing an advanced degree to open up new possibilities should be seen as cash-cows by disreputable, for-profit colleges,” said Attorney General James. “ITT Educational Services, Inc. fleeced hundreds of thousands of students, including over 4,400 New Yorkers at their Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse campuses. I applaud the U.S. Department of Education for helping to secure these funds to help make New York students whole. I will continue to work with my partners in local, statewide, and national government to hold bad actors accountable and to stand up for the rights of New Yorkers.”
ITT engaged in widespread and pervasive misrepresentations related to the ability of students to get a job or transfer credits as well as lied about the program accreditation of ITT’s associate degree in nursing.
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