WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog on Monday urged the Education Department to resume the process of forgiving student loans for tens of thousands Americans who were defrauded by for-profit colleges.
The Office of Inspector General, an independent body within the education agency, recommended in a report that the department restart “review, approval, and discharge process” for defrauded students.
The group also recommended that the department establish time frames for considering the claims.
The report also noted that the department has significantly shrunk the staff of its unit that processes these claims, from 19 contracted staff, on top of attorneys, in November 2016, to just six staff in September 2017.
Education Department press secretary Liz Hill said the report exposed the faults of the Obama administration.
“The OIG report confirms the previous administration did not establish an adequate adjudication process for borrower defense claims,” Hill said in a statement.
