Student Defense serves as a voice for students in the nation’s capital. Relying on the Freedom of Information Act and other public records laws, we fight for increased government transparency on issues that impact students in higher education. Through these efforts, we seek to hold federal agencies and others accountable for misconduct and expose conflicts of interest. The tabs below contain summaries of our requests and links to the relevant materials.
Walden University is a for-profit university that offers online degree programs. Student Defense along with co-counsel Relman Colfax PLLC filed a class action lawsuit in federal court alleging that Walden University engaged in fraudulent business practices, costing former students more than $28 million in overpaid tuition (Carroll v. Walden). Student Defense submitted two requests...
On the heels of filing a class action civil rights lawsuit against Walden University, Student Defense launched an investigation into the extent to which the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (“FSA”) has ensured that colleges and universities comply with key civil rights laws. We discuss our findings in...
The Borrower Defense rule is a federal regulation establishing that student loan borrowers may be eligible for forgiveness of the federal student loans used to attend a school, if that school misled them or engaged in other illegal conduct.
The Department of Education has the authority to hold colleges and universities accountable when they violate the law and harm students.
The U.S. Department of Education is required to monitor and evaluate the financial stability of schools that receive Title IV funds. The Department should ensure that institutions, not taxpayers, bear the cost of schools' mismanagement or failure.
Student Defense represents former Dream Center students harmed by the schools' deceptive practices and sudden closures.
The Gainful Employment Regulation was designed to ensure that students in vocational and for-profit programs would be able to earn enough money to repay their loans.
Individuals who are totally permanently disabled are eligible to have their federal student loans forgiven. Many eligible borrowers have not been granted the relief they deserve.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administers the GI Bill and disburses billions of dollars annually to thousands of colleges and universities.
FOIA requests on topics that do not fit in the categories above.