Dive Brief:

• After months of intense pressure from Corinthian Colleges students and their allies, including several prominent legislators, the U.S. Department of Education has announced it will forgive the debt of many former students.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education reports the students who continued attending Corinthian after June 20, 2014, when the for-profit college chain announced it would be transferring ownership of its properties, will have their loans discharged.
• Other students are also eligible for forgiveness, but they have to prove their college violated state law, according to The Chronicle — though they’ll be able to do so on a group basis, rather than needing to prove it individually.

Dive Insight:

Corinthian Colleges was once one of the largest for-profit college operators in the country, running more than 100 campuses across the United States and Canada. It sold many of its properties in 2014 after increased scrutiny from the federal government caused a cash flow crisis and led to its insolvency. Corinthian transferred ownership on these original campuses, which stayed open under new management. The college chain, however, announced the closure of its remaining campuses this spring, displacing 16,000 students in the middle of their degree or certificate programs.

The Department of Education’s promise to forgive the loans of some Corinthian students is a major victory following months of hesitation by the department. According to the Chronicle, Monday’s announcement also came with a promise to streamline the loan forgiveness process itself.