releases: https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-jones-urges-secretary-devos-to-assist-students-impacted-by-recent-for-profit-campus-closures
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-jones-urges-secretary-devos-to-assist-students-impacted-by-recent-for-profit-campus-closures | Senator Jones Urges Secretary DeVos to Assist Students Impacted by Recent For-Profit Campus Closures | 2018-12-20 | 2018 | 2018-12 | Democrat | House | AL | Doug Jones | J000300 | www.jones.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, DC U.S. Senator Doug Jones today wrote to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on behalf of the students impacted by the Education Corporation of America's (ECA) sudden closure of its campuses nationwide. ECA represents Brightwood Career Institute, Brightwood College, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America, and Virginia College throughout the country. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, ECA operates for-profit Virginia College campuses in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery and serves more than 3,800 Alabama students. Of those students, 670 are using GI Bill benefits. Federal law allows for students who withdraw from a college 120 days before the school closes to be eligible for a discharge of their federal loans. In his letter, Senator Jones asks Secretary DeVos to use her authority to extend the period of relief to May 8, 2018. In his letter to Secretary DeVos, Senator Jones wrote, Though many of ECA's students and teachers were blindsided by the sudden closure, the higher education community was not. ECA is the third major for-profit chain in three years to collapse. Its shutdown continues a troubling pattern of for-profit closures that has devastated students, educators, and communities across the country. On December 6, 2018, Senator Jones wrote to ECA's CEO Stu Reed calling for ECA to help students navigate their options and understand the resources available to them. ECA operates more than 70 campuses nationwide and serves more than 20,000 students, including 4,000 who are veterans or military service members. Full text of the letter is available below and here. December 19, 2018 The Honorable Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20202 Dear Secretary DeVos: I write today on behalf of the students affected by the closure of Education Corporation of America's (ECA) chain of for-profit colleges around the country. As you know, this closure will affect more than 20,000 students enrolled at more than 70 campuses across 20 states. This includes more than 4,000 veterans and military service members using benefits from the G.I. bill. Though many of ECA's students and teachers were blindsided by the sudden closure, the higher education community was not. ECA is the third major for-profit chain in three years to collapse. Its shutdown continues a troubling pattern of for-profit closures that has devastated students, educators, and communities across the country. It is critical that the Department of Education (Department) takes every possible step in order to relieve and remedy this harm. As you know, federal law states that students who withdrew from college in 120 days before the school closed are eligible for a discharge of their federal loans. However, you possess the authority to extend the 120-day period under exceptional circumstances related to the school's closing. We ask you to extend this period of relief through May 8, 2018. On this day, ECA's accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools issued an institutional show-cause directive to ECA's largest chain, Virginia College. This occurred after Virginia College was denied accreditation by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training (ACCET) . The ACCET found that Virginia College was noncompliant on 23 standards, and publicly reported a long list of issues affecting the for-profit college chain . Since this series of events publicly signaled ECA's underlying problems and students may have chosen to withdraw, we believe students who withdrew after May 8th should also be eligible for loan discharge. We urge you to grant this extension as part of the Department's broader efforts to support the students harmed by this closure. We thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your response. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |