Hundreds of former Indiana students of the for-profit college ITT Technical Institute will receive $5.4 million in debt forgiveness. It’s part of a multi-state settlement involving 44 attorneys general, that will provide a total of $168 million in debt forgiveness to more than 22,000 former ITT Tech students nationwide.
The for-profit college and a student loan provider involved with the school engaged in what Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill called in a statement “abusive lending practices.”
The group of attorneys general alleged ITT Tech offered a type of credit for students to cover up-front costs, then pressure them into high-interest loan if they could not pay off the credit between school years.
Documents say ITT Tech education credits were largely non-transferrable to most schools, so students were forced to accept the loans and stay at ITT Tech to finish their education, or drop out with debt.
As part of the multi-state settlement, the lending company involved, Student C-U Connect CUSO, LLC, will not collect remaining debt for 602 Hoosier students.
ITT Tech filed bankruptcyafter investigations into its loaning practices from multiple states in 2016 and federal sanctions.
