DES MOINES (AP) — A Chicago-area for-profit college has agreed to reform its recruiting and enrollment practices and forego collecting about $493 million in student debt owed by 179,529 students.
Career Education Corp., of Schaumburg, Illinois, agreed to a settlement with attorneys general from 48 states and the District of Columbia to close an investigation that began in 2014.
New York reached an earlier agreement. California is considering joining the settlement.
The average student debt relief will be about $2,750.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says $1.4 million owed by 715 Iowa students who took online courses will not be collected.
Miller says the agreement will end what he termed deceptive practices, including misrepresenting total cost and transferability of credits.
The company denies allegations of wrongdoing and says it will work “to demonstrate the quality of our institutions and our commitment to students.”