U.S. to erase $1 billion in debt for students scammed by for-profit colleges

Tens of thousands of U.S. student loan borrowers defrauded by for-profit colleges are getting debt relief. The U.S. Department of Education is cancelling $1 billion in debt held by about 72,000 student borrowers misled by institutions including the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute. 

The stance, which takes effect Thursday, represents an about-face from a process touted by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that offered only partial student loan forgiveness to those defrauded by private, for-profit colleges.  The Education Department is instead taking a "streamlined approach" for granting complete forgiveness to borrowers who had their claims approved, but received only partial forgiveness under DeVos' formula. Affected borrowers can expect to get notices in coming weeks, with discharges to follow, the department said.