Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Education released the findings of a joint investigation with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, saying Corinthian Colleges’ Everest and Wyotech campuses in California and Everest University online programs in Florida misrepresented job placement rates to students.
• NPR reports an accounting program in Brandon, FL, had a 92% published placement rate in 2010 but only a 12% actual placement rate, and a medical assistant diploma program in West Los Angeles said it placed 85% of students in 2012 but really placed no one.
• While Corinthian Colleges has already folded, the findings of the joint investigation will help students access debt relief by providing a level of proof they were defrauded by the for-profit.

Dive Insight:

The announcement about the Corinthian investigation comes just days after Education Management Corp. agreed to pay a $95.5 million settlement over allegations that it paid employees based on enrollment. The company admitted no wrongdoing and said the settlement will allow it to get back to its focus of educating students.

Corinthian shuttered the last of its college campuses in August. It closed or sold more than 100 campuses the prior year, after increased scrutiny from the Department of Education created a cash flow problem that the for-profit giant couldn’t overcome. Corinthian has become a rallying cry for opponents of the for-profit sector, as well as an accreditation system that allowed the chain to maintain standing even as it filed for bankruptcy.