Information About Debt Relief for Corinthian Colleges Students | Federal Student Aid

Information About Debt Relief for Corinthian Colleges Students

Information about Debt Relief for Corinthian Colleges Students

Find out how to get forgiveness for the federal student loan(s) you took out to attend Corinthian Colleges.

Borrowers Who Received an Email Regarding Approval of Claim for Forgiveness of Federal Student Loans Under Borrower Defense to Repayment Rule
Information on Debt Relief for Students at Corinthian Colleges (Everest, Heald, and WyoTech)
Loan Forgiveness for Corinthian Students Whose Schools Closed on April 27, 2015
For Corinthian Students Who Believe They Were Victims of Fraud or Other Violations of State Law
Forbearance and Stopped Collections
Information and Resources for Help
Get Your Questions Answered

Borrowers Who Received an Email Regarding Approval of Claim for Forgiveness of Federal Student Loans Under Borrower Defense to Repayment Rule

If you received an email from a noreply@studentloans.gov email address with the term "Borrower Defense Claim" in the subject line, it is an official U.S. Department of Education (ED) communication that relates to a full or partial approval of your borrower defense to repayment application. Please note that you will receive a subsequent communication from ED or your federal loan servicer regarding when your loan has been discharged. You also will receive further communications if any additional actions are required.

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Information on Debt Relief for Students at Corinthian Colleges (Everest, Heald, and WyoTech)

Following enforcement actions by the federal government and other authorities, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., sold most of its schools and later closed the remaining ones. In February 2015, Corinthian finalized a sale of most of its locations to Zenith Education Group. Some of these schools are scheduled to close after all currently enrolled students have completed their studies, a process referred to as a "teach-out." Then, on April 27, 2015, Corinthian abruptly closed its remaining 30 locations—including two satellite campuses—across the country.

Numerous students have inquired about forgiveness for their federal loan debt from attending Corinthian schools. The Department of Education is committed to helping students affected by these events. On June 8, 2015, we announced a series of steps to support students who attended Corinthian schools. For some students, this may include forgiveness of their federal student debt.

Specifically, you may be eligible for loan forgiveness if you are in one of two situations:

  • You attended a Corinthian school that closed on April 27, 2015.
  • You believe you were defrauded by the Corinthian school you attended or that the school otherwise engaged in actions that violated applicable state law—regardless of whether that school closed.

The information at the links below will help you determine which of these situations applies to the location you attended, and what your options are for debt relief. Specifically:

  • If you attended a Corinthian school that closed on April 27, 2015, you may be eligible for closed school debt relief.
  • If you believe that you were a victim of fraud or another violation of state law at Corinthian, whether your school is open or closed, you may be eligible for debt relief based on borrower defense to repayment.
  • Corinthian students who intend to submit a borrower defense claim may request loan forbearance while their claim is reviewed. This means that you are temporarily allowed to stop repaying your loan, or if your loan is in default, collections will be stopped.
  • We want you to get the help you need to understand your options. If you have questions, you can visit our Q&A page to see questions other Corinthian student borrowers have asked and their answers. We also have additional resources to help you.

We are committed to ensuring that students who have been defrauded by their college, or whose school closed down, receive the debt relief they are entitled to as efficiently and easily as possible.

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Loan Forgiveness for Corinthian Students Whose Schools Closed on April 27, 2015

On April 27, 2015, Corinthian Colleges announced that they were immediately ceasing operations and instruction at their remaining 30 locations across the country. If you were attending any of these closed schools on April 27, 2015, or withdrew from these schools after June 20, 2014, you have two options:

  1. Apply for a closed school loan discharge; or,
  2. Transfer earned credit to another institution to continue your education in a comparable program.

Closed School Discharge

If you attended a Corinthian school (Everest, WyoTech, or Heald) that closed while you were attending or soon after you withdrew, you may be eligible for a closed school discharge. A student who qualifies for a closed school discharge can receive a 100% discharge of the federal Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, or Federal Perkins Loans they took out to attend the closed school and a reimbursement of amounts they have already paid to the Government.

You have the option of closed school loan discharge as long as:

  • You did not finish your program at a Corinthian school.
  • You did not already transfer your Corinthian credits to another school in a similar program (for instance, if you were taking a criminal justice program and you transferred to another criminal justice program, that would be a transfer to a similar program).
  • You were attending the school when it closed, or withdrew on or after June 20, 2014. A closed school discharge normally only applies to students who withdrew (without completing their program) within 120 days of the school’s closing date, or were attending when the school closed. But for Corinthian students, the Secretary of Education has extended the timeframe to include any Corinthian student who withdrew from one of its closed schools on or after June 20, 2014.

You can find a list of schools closed by Corinthian on April 27, 2015 here. Additional information, including an update on the location of student records for students enrolled at each of the 30 locations, can be found on the Corinthian Colleges website under "Accessing Student Records."

To apply for loan forgiveness through a closed school discharge, you can either:

  1. Complete and return the Closed School Loan Discharge Application sent to you by your servicer (or you can complete this Closed School Loan Discharge Application and return it to your loan servicer); or
  2. Contact your loan servicer about the application process for getting your loan discharged.

NOTE: All completed Closed School Loan Discharge Applications must be sent to your loan servicer. To find out who your loan servicer is, log in to My Federal Student Aid or call 1-800-4-FED-AID.

If you have any questions about this process, you should contact your loan servicer.

Transfer of Credits

If you do not wish to obtain a closed school discharge, you may transfer your credits to a comparable program offered by another institution. You should first confirm that your desired school will accept Corinthian credits by contacting that institution.

Please note that if you transfer your credits to a similar program at another institution, you cannot request closed-school debt relief. However, if you believe you have a claim against your school under state law, such as fraud, you may still pursue debt relief based on borrower defense to repayment, as described below, even if you transfer your credits to another school.

For More Help

A group of organizations and institutions are setting up a volunteer counseling corps to help Corinthian students navigate the different options. Contact them to talk to a volunteer counselor.

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For Corinthian Students Who Believe They Were Victims of Fraud or Other Violations of State Law

Students who attended a Corinthian school (Everest, WyoTech, or Heald)—regardless of whether it closed—who believe they were defrauded or that their school otherwise violated applicable state law may be eligible for loan forgiveness (discharge) based on a borrower defense to repayment. If you attended Heald College, Everest Institute, Everest College, Everest University, or WyoTech, there is additional relevant information at the bottom of this page.

Background About Borrower Defense to Repayment

Under the law, you may be eligible for loan forgiveness (a discharge) of the federal Direct Loans you took out to attend a school if that school committed fraud by doing something or failing to do something, or otherwise violated applicable state law related to your loans or the educational services you paid for. This can apply to you regardless of whether your school closed. This process is called borrower defense to repayment, and the law requires borrowers to submit a claim in order to receive debt relief. Through borrower defense to repayment, you may be able to have your entire outstanding federal Direct Loan debt forgiven, and possibly be reimbursed for amounts you have already paid. Parent PLUS borrowers may also be eligible for borrower defense to repayment.

If you have already submitted a claim for borrower defense, you do not need to resubmit. If you would like for your federal student loans to be placed in forbearance and for collections on your loan to stop until your claim is reviewed and processed, please select that option within your borrower defense application. If you select that option, you will be contacted by your loan servicer with further information. Note that interest will continue to accrue while your claim is evaluated. More information on forbearance and stopped collections is available below.

If you attended a school other than Heald, Everest, or WyoTech and believe you may be eligible for borrower defense to repayment, you can find more information and applications on our Borrower Defense to Repayment page.

Special Instructions for Certain Heald College Students

The Department has found that between 2010 and 2014, Heald College misrepresented job placement rates for many of its programs of study. While borrower defense claims typically require the borrower to specifically show that his or her school violated state law, the Department's Heald College findings qualify students enrolled in the covered programs and time periods to apply for a discharge of their federal Direct Loans through an expedited process using a simple attestation form.

If you were enrolled in one of the Heald College programs listed here on or after the date listed and want to apply for a discharge based on defense to repayment, you must do ONE of the following:

  1. Complete an online attestation form, which can be submitted electronically. 
    Or
    Complete the fillable PDF attestation form, print it, and sign it (view a nonfillable HTML version of the attestation form here). 
  2. Send your completed form to the Department of Education by email to FSAOperations@ed.gov or by regular mail to U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 429060, San Francisco, CA 94142.

The Department will contact you as it processes your claim for loan forgiveness based on borrower defense.

Special Instructions for Certain Everest Institute, Everest College, Everest University, and WyoTech Students

The Department has found that between 2010 and 2014, Everest Institute, Everest College, and Everest University (“Everest”), as well as WyoTech, misrepresented job placement rates for many of their programs of study. While borrower defense claims typically require the borrower to specifically show that his or her school violated state law, the Department's Everest and WyoTech findings qualify students enrolled in the covered programs and time periods to apply for a discharge of their federal Direct Loans through an expedited process using a simple attestation form. 

If you were enrolled in one of the Everest or WyoTech programs listed here on or after the date listed and want to apply for a discharge based on defense to repayment, you must do ONE of the following:

  1. Complete an online attestation form, which can be submitted electronically. 
    Or 
    Complete the fillable PDF attestation form, print it, and sign it (view a nonfillable HTML version of the attestation form here).
  2. Send your completed form to the Department of Education by email to FSAOperations@ed.gov or by regular mail to U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 429060, San Francisco, CA 94142.

The Department will contact you as it processes your claim for loan forgiveness based on borrower defense.

About Loan Forbearance

If you wish to stop paying your loan back while your application is considered, or to stop collections on a defaulted loan, you may wish to request loan forbearance.

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Forbearance and Stopped Collections

Corinthian students that intend to submit a borrower defense claim can have their federal student loans placed into forbearance or stopped collections if those loans are being serviced by a federal loan servicer (or defaulted and serviced by a private collection agency). Once you have submitted an attestation form with all of the required information, your federal student loans will be placed into forbearance or stopped collections until your claim is reviewed and processed.

Your federal student loans will be placed in forbearance, or collections will stop for up to 12 months. Only borrowers with accounts that are being serviced by a federal loan servicer are eligible for forbearance or stopped collections. The forbearance or stopped collections would include all federally serviced loan accounts that may be eligible for forgiveness based on borrower defense. Note that private loans cannot be placed into forbearance or stopped collections.

About Forbearance and Stopped Collections

During any period that your federal student loans are in forbearance, you do not have to make payments on those loans, and the loans will not go into default. If your loans are already in default, collections will stop. This will continue until the loan discharge review process is completed. Your servicer will notify you when your loan has been placed into forbearance or stopped collections  if those loans are being serviced by a federal loan servicer. Until you receive that notice, you should continue to make payments.

The forbearance or stopped collections will affect all of a borrower's federal loans that are serviced by a federal loan servicer (or defaulted and serviced by a private collection agency), including loans that are not eligible for a borrower defense to repayment loan discharge, such as loans taken out to attend a different institution than the one related to your claim. Note that interest will continue to accrue on all of these federal loans, including subsidized loans, during the forbearance or stopped collections period.

If you want the forbearance or stopped collections to apply only to those federal student loans related to your borrower defense claim, or if you do not want your loans to continue in forbearance or stopped collections, you must notify your loan servicer after you hear from them confirming the forbearance or stopped collection. At any time during the forbearance or stopped collections period, you may voluntarily make payments on your loans, including payments for accrued interest, or end the forbearance or stopped collections by contacting your servicer.

If your borrower defense claim is successful, your federal student loans related to your claim will be discharged. Also at that time, the forbearance or stopped collections period for your other federal student loans will end. You will be responsible for repaying these other loans, including interest that accrued during the forbearance or stopped collections period, under the terms of your promissory note.

If your borrower defense claim is denied, you will not receive a discharge of any of your federal student loans and the forbearance or stopped collections period will end for all of your loans. You will be responsible for repaying these loans, including interest that accrued during the forbearance or stopped collections period, under the terms of your promissory note.

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Information and Resources for Help

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Get Your Questions Answered

If you are or were enrolled in one of these schools, we have provided a list of frequently asked questions to assist you.

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Privacy Act Notice

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires that the following notice be provided to you: The authorities for collecting the requested information from and about you are §421 et seq., §451 et seq. and §461 et seq. of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq., and 20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) and the authorities for collecting and using your Social Security Number (SSN) are §§428B(f) and 484(a)(4) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1078-2(f) and 20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(4)) and 31 U.S.C. 7701(b). Participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, or the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program, and giving us your SSN are voluntary, but you must provide the requested information, including your SSN, to participate. The principal purposes for collecting the information on this form, including your SSN, are to verify your identity, to determine your eligibility to receive a loan or a benefit on a loan (such as a deferment, forbearance, discharge, or forgiveness) under the Direct Loan Program, FFEL, or Perkins Loan Programs, to permit the servicing of your loan(s), and, if it becomes necessary, to locate you and to collect and report on your loan(s) if your loan(s) becomes delinquent or defaults. We also use your SSN as an account identifier and to permit you to access your account information electronically. The information in your file may be disclosed, on a case- by-case basis or under a computer matching program, to third parties as authorized under routine uses in the appropriate systems of records notices. The routine uses of this information include, but are not limited to, its disclosure to federal, state, or local agencies, to private parties such as relatives, present and former employers, business and personal associates, to consumer reporting agencies, to financial and educational institutions, and to guaranty agencies in order to verify your identity, to determine your eligibility to receive a loan or a benefit on a loan, to permit the servicing or collection of your loan(s), to enforce the terms of the loan(s), to investigate possible fraud and to verify compliance with federal student financial aid program regulations, or to locate you if you become delinquent in your loan payments or if you default. To provide default rate calculations, disclosures may be made to guaranty agencies, to financial and educational institutions, or to state agencies. To provide financial aid history information, disclosures may be made to educational institutions. To assist program administrators with tracking refunds and cancellations, disclosures may be made to guaranty agencies, to financial and educational institutions, or to federal or state agencies. To provide a standardized method for educational institutions to efficiently submit student enrollment statuses, disclosures may be made to guaranty agencies or to financial and educational institutions. To counsel you in repayment efforts, disclosures may be made to guaranty agencies, to financial and educational institutions, or to federal, state, or local agencies. In the event of litigation, we may send records to the Department of Justice, a court, adjudicative body, counsel, party, or witness if the disclosure is relevant and necessary to the litigation. If this information, either alone or with other information, indicates a potential violation of law, we may send it to the appropriate authority for action. We may send information to members of Congress if you ask them to help you with federal student aid questions. In circumstances involving employment complaints, grievances, or disciplinary actions, we may disclose relevant records to adjudicate or investigate the issues. If provided for by a collective bargaining agreement, we may disclose records to a labor organization recognized under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71. Disclosures may be made to our contractors for the purpose of performing any programmatic function that requires disclosure of records. Before making any such disclosure, we will require the contractor to maintain Privacy Act safeguards. Disclosures may also be made to qualified researchers under Privacy Act safeguards.

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Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1845-0132. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain a benefit (20 U.S.C. 1087e(h)). If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this application, please contact FSAOperations@ed.gov directly.

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