HARRISBURG – Attorney General Michelle Henry announced an agreement with recently-closed Pittsburgh Career Institute that ensures dozens of students are free of $218,000 in debt balances that were outstanding when the school closed in November.
Since January 1, 2020, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has obtained more than $205 million in private and federal student loan debt cancellation.
The sudden closure of Pittsburgh Career Institute left many students with outstanding balances, Attorney General Henry said. It is only right that these students are not on the hook for those balances. My office is committed to helping students who spend much money, time, and effort on higher education and do not receive the promised benefits.
Pittsburgh Career Institute provided health care-related educational programs as well as a veterinarian assistant program. When PCI announced the closure in November 2022, the institute cited the Department of Education’s decision to no longer accept the institutional accreditor for PCI, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. The Department of Education informed all schools using that organization that they would be given 18 months to find a new accreditor. PCI chose to abruptly close with, at the time, less than 200 enrolled students.
The agreement prevents the collection or transfer of the $218,000 in alleged student debt balances. It also requires compliance with the Pennsylvania Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act, which governs collection activities, as well as the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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