WASHINGTON — Over 260,000 individuals who previously attended the now-closed for-profit Ashford University are set to have their student loans canceled, as the Biden administration continues to implement debt relief measures before the end of its term.
Ashford University, once among the largest for-profit educational institutions in the U.S. with a student body exceeding 100,000, was run by Zovio until it was acquired by the University of Arizona in 2020.
The U.S. Department of Education began the loan forgiveness process for Ashford’s former students following a court ruling in California, which determined that the institution misled potential enrollees regarding its accreditation status, tuition fees, and the duration required to complete degrees.
This year, the Department already approved loan cancellations for an initial cohort of 2,300 ex-Ashford students who sought assistance through the borrower defense program. The recent decision extends this forgiveness to all individuals who attended Ashford from March 2009 to April 2020, regardless of whether they officially requested relief.
In an unusual action, the Department also proposed preventing the founder of Zovio, Andrew Clark, from holding any executive position at institutions receiving federal financial aid for at least three years. The agency cited that Clark not only oversaw the illegal practices at Ashford but also actively took part in fostering a problematic recruiting culture.
The determination on this issue will be made by the Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, and inquiries have been made to an attorney who represented Clark during his tenure at Zovio.
Previously, the Biden administration indicated intentions to seek compensation from the University of Arizona to mitigate the costs of loan forgiveness, arguing that the university assumed responsibility for Ashford’s liabilities with its acquisition. However, this initiative has seemingly stalled and is unlikely to be taken up by the incoming Trump administration, which is anticipated to be more supportive of for-profit colleges.
In Congress, Republican leaders have expressed strong opposition to the Biden administration’s approach to student loan forgiveness, labeling it as an overreach that unfairly burdens taxpayers who did not attend college. Recently, Representative Virginia Foxx from North Carolina criticized the administration for allegedly misusing the borrower defense program to grant widespread loan cancellations, particularly condemning the practice of automatically forgiving loans in bulk without individual applications.
Foxx stated that once President Trump assumes office, the current administration’s loan forgiveness policies would face significant pushback.
Additionally, President Biden recently announced a final wave of loan forgiveness related to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which has provided some form of relief to over 5 million borrowers through various initiatives—more than any prior administration.
Despite these efforts, Biden has not fulfilled a promise to implement extensive student loan forgiveness. The Supreme Court blocked a proposal aimed at forgiving up to $20,000 for more than 40 million borrowers, and another attempt remains entangled in federal litigation due to challenges raised by multiple Republican states.
