The US Department of Education last week began advising thousands of former ITT Tech students that their student loan balances would automatically be canceled.

The department was required to take this step after the Obama administration’s borrower defense rule came into effect last year. The rule requires borrowers who were enrolled within 120 days of a college closing to automatically pay off their student debt if they haven’t transferred elsewhere within three years, a process called release from school. closed.

In December, around 15,000 borrowers – mostly former students of Corinthian Colleges programs – their loans were canceled under the rule. The debt paid was $ 150 million.

The government will set aside more than $ 94.5 million for ITT borrowers who became eligible for automatic loan relief this month. Eligible borrowers visited ITT establishments which closed on September 6, 2016.

About 7,500 alumni ITT students will benefit from debt relief. Parent borrowers whose PLUS loans will also be canceled are not included in this number.

New borrower defense rule released by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos this month removes the automatic loan relief provision for borrowers who have not registered elsewhere within three years. Instead, these borrowers will need to proactively seek debt cancellation.

“At the same time as it provides these dumps for ITT borrowers, it is working to eliminate this important back-up mechanism for future borrowers by ousting the borrower defense rule,” said Senator Dick Durbin, a Illinois Democrat, in a statement.