Report: Students at For-Profit Schools Carry Heavier Debt

AUGUSTA, Maine - A new report finds students at for-profit colleges in Maine carry much heavier debt loads than those at public and private nonprofit colleges in the state.
 
The non-partisan Center for Responsible Lending says the debt burden falls on low-income, female and minority students who disproportionately enroll at Maine for-profit schools.
 
About three-quarters of students at these institutions take out loans, compared with 66 percent and 41 percent respectively at public and private institutions.
 
Federal officials in January said hundreds of programs at for-profit colleges are at risk of losing federal funding unless their graduates start earning better wages. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said she would take another look at that federal rule.
 
A Maine Democrat's bill would require annual review of for-profit colleges by the state Board of Education.