On September 14, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report on financial risks to students associated with school-issued tuition payment plans. Although the report acknowledges that many tuition...more
“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, [and] demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.” – President Joe Biden, State of the Union, March 1, 2022...more
What’s the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau up to?
On January 20, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau signaled a new front in its ongoing scrutiny of student loan origination and servicing practices by...more
The FTC announced that it had issued Notices of Penalty Offense to for-profit colleges and was cracking down on unfair and deceptive conduct in the education marketplace.
During a closed press conference last week, the...more
This week has subjected the college admissions process – already the subject of considerable debate – to unprecedented scrutiny. The nationwide indictments unsealed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in the past few days...more
Despite winter weather that shut down the remaining parts of the federal government on Monday, the US Department of Education and the panel of 20-plus negotiators this week concluded their first round of discussions on a...more
Secretary Betsy DeVos announced earlier today that the US Department of Education has retroactively reinstated the federal recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools as of December 12, 2016,...more
The Department of Education (ED) has launched a new online database intended to provide current and prospective students, as well as the broader community, with current information on the accreditation status of institutions...more
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that its Student and Exchange Visitor Program will no longer allow ACICS schools 18 months to find new accreditors.
Reversing its earlier position, the Student and...more
In an afternoon hearing on December 20, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton denied the motion of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools ("ACICS") seeking a temporary restraining order...more
On December 12, 2016, US Secretary of Education John King issued his final – and expected – decision denying the appeal filed by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools ("ACICS") and terminated its status...more
On June 23, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) will meet to consider the recommendation of US Department of Education (ED or the Department) staff that the Accrediting Council for...more
Last week, Common Sense Media ("CSM") announced that it is undertaking an ambitious initiative to evaluate and grade the student data privacy practices of EdTech companies that provide products, apps, or services for use in...more
In a recent trend, student debt relief scammers are engaging in aggressive marketing tactics by placing advertisements that target student loan borrowers from a specific institution of higher education. These advertisements...more
Earlier this month, the US Department of Education ("ED" or the "Department") announced a number of changes to the so-called "cash management" regulations that govern institutional arrangements with financial account...more
Reacting to ongoing concerns and complaints expressed by members of Congress and others, the accrediting community has been very busy introducing new policies and procedures and refining their respective processes in...more
Accreditors have been seen as obstacles to innovation in higher education. In April we issued a Cooley Alert on new WASC guidelines for disaggregating institutional services. Now WASC and DEAC have issued separate policies...more
The WASC Senior College and University Commission ("WSCUC" or "the Commission") has issued a revision of its policy on agreements between accredited institutions and unaccredited entities, such as service providers. ...more