News Story (NATIONAL, New York)
Kate Taylor
New York Times (NYT)
March 16, 2016
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: For-profit college, Loan Forgiveness, Student Debt
Organizations mentioned/involved: Mobilization for Justice (New York City), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)
DETAILS
The agreement, known as SARA, is meant to remove a significant obstacle to the expansion of higher education online: the patchwork of state regulations that required schools to go state by state to seek approval for enrolling students. States that sign the agreement essentially agree to let a college’s home state regulate it, whether it is public, private or for-profit.
In a letter they sent to Ms. Elia on Wednesday, the groups said the agreement provided too little oversight, especially of for-profit schools.
“Historically, New York has been a national leader in protecting its citizens from unfair business practices,” the groups wrote. By signing the agreement, “New York would formally agree to the weaker oversight of out-of-state online schools, effectively ceding the ability to guard its citizens against abusive practices.”
“We’re basically leaving our most vulnerable students open to being scammed,” said Evan Denerstein, a senior staff attorney at MFY Legal Services Inc., an organization in New York that provides free legal services to people who have defaulted on their student loans.