The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that it will discharge the remaining federal student loan balances for those who were enrolled at Westwood College.
To be eligible for the loan forgiveness program, the Department of Education says students must have been enrolled between 2002 and 2015.
The decision to discharge the loans comes after an investigation of the college's practices.
"The Department has analyzed the evidence related to Westwood and concluded that the school engaged in widespread misrepresentations about the value of its credentials for attendees' and graduates' employment prospects such that all borrowers who attended during the period described above are entitled to a full loan discharge," the department said in a statement.
The Department of Education says the action will result in $1.5 billion in discharges. It adds that 79,000 borrowers will benefit from the forgiveness program.
Last week, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government will forgive up to $10,000 worth of federal student loans for non-Pell Grant recipients and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The relief is available for individuals making less than $125,000 per year.
