(CNN) Consumer groups blasted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos this week over a new rule they say would make it harder for defrauded students to seek debt relief.

Currently, students may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness if their college closed or was accused of fraudulent activity. More than 130,000 borrowers have applied since 2015, a majority of whom attended for-profit colleges.

The new rule would replace one written by the Obama Administration after the government received an unprecedented number of claims following the collapse of Corinthian Colleges in 2015. The government found Corinthian had misled students for years by advertising inaccurate job placement numbers.

But some colleges have argued the policy was too broad and DeVos vowed last year to review the rule.

"Our commitment and our focus has been and remains on protecting students from fraud," said DeVos in a statement Wednesday.

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