RICHARD DURBIN ow ON FORE IGN Du' 20510-1301 ILLINOIS ASSIS IANT TY (IOIVIIVIIT I'll ON AND December 18, 2013 The Honorable Arne Duncan Secretary Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave, SW Washington, DC 20202 Dear Secretary Duncan: A recent Huffington Post article, How A or-Profit College Created Fake Jobs To Get Taxpayer Money, reports that Corinthian Colleges, Inc., has engaged in deceptive practices to artificially boost job placement rates in an effort to mislead students and accreditors. I write to ask the Department of Education to respond to these allegations and to spell out what, if any, direct authority the Department has to hold Corinthian accountable for this fraudulent behavior. According to the article, this scam took a number of forms. Everest College, a subsidiary of Corinthian, operated a subsidy program in which local employers were paid an "on-boarding allowance" of $2,000 per head to hire graduates into temporary, 30-day positions. After the 30 days, Everest graduates were let go and cut off from career services through the college. In spite of marketing claims that graduates could expect long-term job placement in their chosen fields and higher wages due to their degree, the article reports that Everest career counselors are trained to look for companies that have high employee turn-over rates so they can shuttle multiple graduates to the same positions. The College also is alleged to pay temp agencies to hire its graduates. The article also highlights Corinthian Colleges' manipulative marketing practices. This was done by outright lying -- advertising numbers substantially higher than actual rates. Meanwhile, graduates find themselves with large debts, a. questionable degree, and a short-term, dead-end job. Given that Corinthian Colleges received nearly $10 billion over the last decade in federal student aid funding, these practices and misrepresentation to students is an egregious misuse of taxpayer dollars. Today, I am asking the Department of Education to look in to these allegations and use whatever authorities it may have to hold Everest and its parent company, Corinthian Colleges, accountable. I am calling on you and this Administration to work with Congress to respond more aggressively to abuses against students and the public such as those perpetrated by Corinthian. /ll OII .;Ii (JIJTII SOUIH I I II HIJII DC I304 II (30804 SPRINGIVIELI), II 27/ 251, RRY SIRE 7'92 I3l2}Rb3 495? l2l7!49? 406? H180 bl/3 B3001 fibl Thank you for your attention to this important issue. I look forward to your prompt reply. Sincerely, Richard J. Durbin United States Senator