“Shattered”

Each year, tens of thousands of unsuspecting students fall victim to predatory and fraudulent colleges and universities—the vast majority of these institutions are for-profit schools. These profit-driven colleges are expensive, low-quality, often lack proper accreditation, or are so poor in reputation that employers do not recognize their credentials. These institutions derive nearly all of their revenue—tens of billions of dollars a year—from the American taxpayer in the form of student loans, military benefits, and Pell Grants. 

The students who are targeted by these colleges are predominantly low-income, minority, military service members, and veterans. Predatory colleges spend billions of dollars a year on advertising and marketing. Their commercials fill daytime T.V. and popular radio channels in all languages. Their recruiters prey on homeless shelters and soup kitchens, VA hospitals and military bases. 

Millions of Americans in student loan default today attended a for-profit college. Most have no legal recourse because they unknowingly signed arbitration agreements waiving their right to sue in a court of law. What’s more, the U.S. Department of Education is actively attempting to roll back the few regulations in place to curb the most egregious abuses in American higher education, exposing another generation of Americans to waste, fraud, and abuse.