Debt Collective

The following is a report from Elia who used our debt dispute tools during recent a debt clinic in Detroit. MI.  If you would like to host a debt clinic, get in touch so we can support you. Tabling at the ClinicHello! Our event

By the Debt Collective This article originally appeared in the Guardian on Apr 24, 2019 This week, Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, announced a proposal to cancel student debt for millions of people and make public college

It’s important to celebrate the individual victories while we fight for debt relief for everyone. Debt Collective member Nadine Stewart has been battling the Department of Education for loan relief for almost two years. She recently celebrated a small but important win. Nadine

Earlier this month, Dream Center, which operates schools such as Art Institute, Argosy and South University, started closing campuses around the country. As with the closures of other for-profit colleges like Corinthian and ITT Tech, tens of thousands have been left with a mountain

In celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., local community organizations, artists, radio stations and groups like the Debt Collective joined together in Leimert Park Village in Los Angeles at the 2019 Freedom Festival. The event was hosted by

A federal judge has approved a settlement confirming that 750,000 former students were cheated by the company and canceling every dollar of student debt held by the for-profit-school. This is a huge victory. It means that 750,000 students who will not have

*UPDATE: On January 24, the Court approved the settlement described in this post. For information on how to submit a comment on the settlement to the Court, go here. Why did ITT Tech Declare Bankruptcy? ITT advertised itself as a quality school offering degrees

Next week, the Department of Education will hold the first in a series of meetings ("neg reg") on Defense to Repayment, the law that says students who were defrauded by their school have a right to have their federal loans cancelled. The Debt Collective

Last month, a group of for-profit colleges sued the Department of Education over the defense to repayment (DTR) regulations we fought hard for. Obviously the Betsy DeVos-led Department of Education isn't exactly enthusiastic about defending these regulations. They're probably hoping to use this lawsuit

Today the Trump Administration announced that it would try to halt the new “Defense to Repayment” regulation put in place last year. This means that the vast majority of former for-profit students who are fighting for relief are getting screwed over by the same

The fight for student debt cancellation started with a debt strike over two years ago and has continued on multiple fronts since. The fight has been quiet lately, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been moving forward. A Debt Collective member achieved a small

When ITT Tech declared bankruptcy, former ITT students in the Debt Collective sprung into action. Working with Harvard's Project on Predatory Student Lending, they formed a group to represent former ITT students' interest in the bankruptcy proceedings. This effort had its first concrete victory

Ami SchneiderI'm a debt striker who attended Art Institute in Illinois. Last week I was an invited guest at a press conference held by Lisa Madigan, the Illinois State Attorney General, and Dick Durbin, the Senior Senator from Illinois. Senator Durbin had called a

As the Trump administration makes nice with for-profit colleges and threatens to roll back those small gains we have won so far, we are building an organization that will have real power against creditors and the government agencies that do their bidding. We're building

Eight million student debtors are in default. That's nearly 20% of the 44 million total. Add if we count the student debtors who are delinquent, in deferral, or forbearance, it's more like 40% of all student debtors who are not paying. Recent economic studies

Everyone knows that members of the Debt Collective launched the first student debt strike in history and forced a change to federal law, resulting in hundreds of millions in debt relief (so far - we're still fighting!). Fewer people know that we are also

Word is that The Education Management Corp. (EDMC), which owns for-profit chains Art Institutes, Brown Mackie, Argosy, and South University is going to be sold to the non-profit faith-based Dream Center Foundation. That means all of those for-profit colleges will suddenly become non-profit colleges

Yesterday Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education. Only 50 senators voted YES, so Vice President Pence had to cast a tie-breaking vote. DeVos’s only experience of public education is fighting against it. *She went to private schools. *She sent her children

Beginning February 1, 2017, student debtors who wish to dispute their federal student loans must use the Department of Education’s new form which is located here. If you filed Defense to Repayment before February 1, you do NOT need to file again. The

For months now, ITT debt resisters in the Debt Collective have been working together for debt cancellation. Over 900 resisters have joined the debt strike. Over 2,000 resisters have submitted Defense to Repayment applications to the Department of Education. Now they have enlisted

After members of the Debt Collective stood up for their rights, the Department of Education finally acknowledged its responsibility to investigate fraud among schools to which gives money to and to discharge the loans of students who were victims of fraud. It even acknowledged

Dear President Obama, The white house is about to be occupied by a man who owned a for-profit college, Trump University. As former for-profit college students and members of the Debt Collective, we are asking you to cancel our federal loans before Trump is

The Debt Collective has always had a healthy skepticism when it comes to rhetoric from both sides of the aisle (Democrats and Republicans). We have said this from the beginning and we've always suggested people read the fine print! So let’s talk about