What I told Secretary DeVos about for-profit colleges and students of color

On October 4, the U.S. Department of Education held a public hearing on higher education. Here’s what I had to say.

Gisela Ariza
Oct 11, 2017 · 4 min read
Image for post
Image for post

My name is Gisela Ariza and I am a policy analyst at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in Washington, D.C. We are a coalition charged by our diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. We work toward the goal of a more open and just society — an America as good as its ideals.

Today, I am not only here as a representative for my organization, but also as a first-generation college graduate, the daughter of two immigrant parents, and as a counselor who has worked directly with students at the high school and at the college level and have helped them navigate their higher education journeys.

I’m here to talk about some of the experiences the students of color I worked with encountered during the process of pursuing a higher education degree, including the harmful practices they experienced when they became student loan borrowers for the first time.

During my time as an educational counselor with The Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), a federally funded TRIO program that helps non-traditional college students with college admission and financial aid, I quickly learned that many for-profit colleges were taking advantage of some of our most disadvantaged students.

During their short period of time enrolled in these for-profit schools, they acquired massive student loans — a decision they had hoped would pay off in the future upon finding employment. However, for most, this was never the case.

Many were already facing financial hardships, a lot of them were primary breadwinners or they had children to feed, and in many instances, they worked two jobs.

When the students came to the center, they brought in past due statements and letters from agencies promising to take legal action against them. They showed me the calling history in their cell phones to demonstrate the high number of calls they were receiving from debt collection agencies that harassed them at all hours of the day. In some instances, the students left my office in tears, feeling defeated and frozen at not being able to do anything about their debt.

As a young counselor, I felt helpless — our center was a final resort, but unfortunately for most of our students, the harm had already been done. Their credit had already been affected, the interest rate on their debt had gone up, and the hole of debt was only getting deeper.

We’ve all seen and heard the commercials and radio ads, with the emotional messages that remind students about their unfortunate circumstances. These abusive strategies and outright assaults on our most vulnerable students is something we should all stand against, including Secretary DeVos as the leader of the Department of Education.

The Department of Education recently posted a notice in the federal register indicating its intent to re-open regulations and weaken protections for marginalized students — these are regulations that the civil rights community fought hard for. The borrower defense regulation was put in place to protect students who had been deceived, and the gainful employment regulation was in place to help prevent this from happening to other students in the future.

On September 19, The Leadership Conference co-authored a letter, along with 39 other organizations, urging the Department of Education to protect student loan borrowers of color. In the letter, we provided extensive data that demonstrates the different ways that borrowers of color experience disproportionate levels of debt, especially among students who attend for-profit schools. They are likely to have higher rates of debt and default than their peers at other schools. We know that students who attend these schools are also less likely to graduate and are unable to find well-paying jobs.

I urge the Department of Education to protect student loan borrowers of color and their peers, and to provide federal oversight so that we can put an end to the damage that for-profit colleges do to thousands of students throughout the country. The department has the responsibility to protect borrowers of color, from companies that continue to prey on them and–without hesitation–crush their dreams for a better life.

I learned a lot from the students while I worked at the EOC, and one thing my students taught me was that they were determined to make a better life for themselves and their families. For many of them the path to college attainment was the primary route out of poverty — and it is that determination that has inspired me to speak out today.

I want my students to know that the civil rights community will continue to fight for them and their right to a high-quality education. We will push hard against any leader who sides with for-profit companies over students. I want my students to know: you are not alone. Your dreams matter and we will continue to fight for an America as good as its ideals.

Thank you.


To learn more about the civil rights perspective on gainful employment, click here.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch

Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore

Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade

Get the Medium app

A button that says 'Download on the App Store', and if clicked it will lead you to the iOS App store
A button that says 'Get it on, Google Play', and if clicked it will lead you to the Google Play store