Arne Duncan Was 'Thrilled' to Shut Down Corinthian Colleges, Dodges Debt Forgiveness Question

With Corinthian Colleges Inc. now officially shuttered, Education Secretary Arne Duncan appeared on MSNBC's "All in with Chris Hayes" to discuss the aftermath, students stuck with federal student loans in particular.

"Thousands of students have been left with more debt - have ended up in a worse financial position than when they started." Duncan told Hayes. "That's simply untenable and we're thrilled to be able to move forward starting today with these new regulations."

Hayes brought up the Education Department's loan forgiveness program for students affected by Corinthian's abrupt closure in light of their violations, noting that borrower advocates called the process "onerous." Hayes then asked Duncan why his department would not just offer a "blanket debt forgiveness" program.

"We were thrilled to be able to close down Corinthian and no administration has done more to challenge the status quo despite stiff opposition from Congress and some real battles in the court," Duncan said. "The process is not onerous, to be clear, but this is new work for us, so we want to be as thoughtful as we can to students, but at the end of the day, Chris, all of this is cleaning up a mess after it happened.

"We have to stop this ahead of time so more students don't end up in this situation and that's what all these regulations that are going into affect today are all about."

But at least one borrower advocate that Hayes referred to is not buying Duncan's victory lap. The Debt Collective is currently working with about 200 students with debt and useless college credits thanks to Corinthian's closure.

"Why would Secretary Duncan be thrilled to shut down Corinthian if there wasn't systemic fraud?" the group told the Huffington Post. "It tells you everything you need to know that his department continues to collect on Corinthian students' debts when he could, under current law, erase it this very moment with a stroke of the pen."

The HP reported last Nov. that the Education Department knew Corinthian was going under and was even facing multiple lawsuits from all over, but did not warn current or prospective students. The Los Angeles Times reported shortly after that the Education Department would help Corinthian sell its campuses after declaring bankruptcy.

However, the lawsuits the HP referenced included allegations that Corinthian falsified job placement statistics in order to attract students to enroll and take out loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau even sued Corinthian for using a "predatory lending scheme."

An Education Department spokesperson declined to comment to the HP.

"If Secretary Duncan is 'thrilled' Corinthian shut down, why did the department allow students to continue to enroll at the schools, and continue to provide it with federal student loan money," the Debt Collective said, "if they knew this school had the ethics of a payday lender?"