Headquarters of Ashford University in San Diego, a for-profit university belonging to Bridgepoint Education.
Frank Duenzl | Picture-Alliance | DPA | AP
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would forgive $4.5 billion in student debt for 261,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct Ashford University.
Borrowers who qualify for the relief are those who studied at the largely online institution between March 1, 2009 and April 30, 2020.
The California Department of Justice requested the loan cancellation for federal student loan borrowers based on evidence it gathered during its lawsuit against Ashford University and its parent company, Zovio, Inc., the Education Department said.
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The University of Arizona acquired Ashford University in 2020. Zovio approved a plan to go out of business in late 2022, according to HigherEd Dive.
The University of Arizona did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
California’s Justice Department accused the university of deceiving students by making false promises and providing false information, including about costs and career outcomes, to get them to enroll.
“Numerous federal and state investigations have documented the deceptive recruiting tactics frequently used by Ashford University,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal in a statement.
“In reality, 90 percent of Ashford students never graduated, and the few who did were often left with large debts and low incomes.”
Since Biden took office, he has forgiven debt for more than 5 million federal student loan borrowers, totaling $183.6 billion in relief.
