Toward the end of the 2018 spring semester, Robert Armour learned that his colon cancer had metastasized to his liver and advanced to stage four. The doctoral student at Argosy University’s Schaumburg campus in Illinois took a leave of absence from his psychology program to undergo treatment.
While he was on leave, his campus became among the first wave of Argosy campuses to cease operation. And when it shuttered, Armour pursued his legal right to have $100,000 in federal student loans he borrowed for his degree canceled. The Education Department denied the request, claiming he didn’t meet the criteria.
That decision left Armour struggling to pay more than $1,000 a month on his loans while battling cancer.
On Friday, Armour, 54, sued the department and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in an effort to reverse the denial of his application for a closed-school discharge, a form of loan forgiveness provided to college students whose schools shut down.