A student loan guaranty agency finalized its purchase of roughly half of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain this week. And the announcement included new, student-centric concessions that earned praise from federal agencies and some consumer groups.
Corinthian sold 53 of its Everest and WyoTech campuses and online programs to the Zenith Education Group, a new subsidiary of the ECMC Group. The nonprofit will pay $24 million for the campuses, which enroll about 33,000 students.
The sale included the forgiveness of $480 million in loans Corinthian students took out from a controversial private lending program the company created. Zenith will also drop a Corinthian requirement that students pursue arbitration before suing over complaints.
"We’re confident students will be safeguarded by the strong and bold commitments Zenith has made," said Ted Mitchell, the U.S. undersecretary of education, in a written statement.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/04/guaranty-agency-buys-half-corinthian-colleges-and-forgives-480-million-student-debt