Partial Relief for Defrauded Borrowers

Clare McCann was quoted in Inside Higher Ed on borrower defense relief:

Clare McCann, the deputy director of higher education policy at New America and a former Obama Education Department official, said the announcement leaves unanswered a lot of questions about how exactly the formula for partial relief will work. She also questioned whether it is fair and legal to apply a different relief formula for Corinthian borrowers depending on the date their claim is reviewed.

“There are also questions about whether or not this is really an appropriate way to develop this partial relief framework, given that there’s an ongoing rule-making process where they can get insight from stakeholders,” she said.

McCann also pushed back on the department’s use of the recent inspector general report, which found no issues with rulings on claims that had already gone out the door.

“This appears to have been an unnecessary delay to come up with a process that’s confusing to borrowers and leaves everyone not knowing where they stand right now,” she said.