ACT College Shuts Down, Stranding Students

A Northern Virginia vocational college has abruptly shut down, stranding students and teachers who appeared for classes last week to discover ACT College closed.
The school, with campuses in Arlington, Alexandria, and Manassas, has left hundreds of students looking for answers.  Some students were only weeks from graduation.
A United States Department of Education spokesman told The Washington Post that the school's eligibility for federal aid was recently denied "to protect students and taxpayer funds."
The school had operated for nearly three decades announced its sudden demise by posting a letter on the door of its campus and providing limited information on its website.
Some students took out tens of thousands of dollars for programs in subjects such as medical assisting, health sciences, and medical radiography.
The Googasian Firm, a class action law firm based in Michigan, is investigating potential claims belonging to former students.  The firm has previously pursued certified class actions on behalf of former students of for-profit schools, including those affected by the sudden closing of ComputerTraining.edu in December 2009 and Clayton College of Natural Health in July 2010.  More information about the class actions arising from the closure of these schools is available at www.computertrainingclassaction.com and  www.ccnhclassaction.com.
Persons with concerns about the closing of ACT College who wish to speak to The Googasian Firm attorneys investigating the closure may call 1-877-540-8333.

For Profit Colleges Suffer Enrollment Drops

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that intense public scrutiny of the nation's largest for-profit higher education have taken a toll on enrollment, revenue and profit.  Companies including Career Education Corporation, Corinthian Colleges, and Kaplan have all experienced declines during a period of "negative publicity abut their colleges from Congressional hearings, lawsuits, and state investigations," according to the Chronicle.
In some instances in the for-profit school sector, declining enrollment and revenue actually prompts admissions officials -- who are responsible for meeting sales targets -- to engage in deceptive practices on issues like accreditation, credit transferability, and placement.   If you are a student or school official with concerns about the practices of a particular for-profit school, click here.

For-profits schools receive nearly half of military education benefits

BusinessWeek reports that for-profit schools get nearly half of all federal dollars aimed at assisting veterans in pursuing education after their military service.

According to BusinessWeek:

"For-profit colleges are getting almost one of every two military Tuition Assistance dollars, according to data from the U.S. Department of Defense.

"The for-profit college industry received $279.8 million of about $563 million spent last year on the program, according to analysis released today by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Public colleges received $163.5 million, while nonprofit private schools got $119.4 million.

"Congress and states’ attorneys general have been reviewing sales practices and student debt loads at for-profit colleges, which get as much as 90 percent of their revenue from federal programs. Schools solicit troops partly because their government tuition programs are excluded from that 90 percent cap. Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, has proposed legislation that would include those funds to remove the extra incentive for signing up soldiers.

"'Today’s news that the DOD is paying more to for-profit colleges than public and nonprofit institutions is highly troubling,' the majority staff of the committee said in the report, which cited misrepresentation of programs and tuition costs, aggressive recruiting strategies and high drop-out rates as 'significant problems' in the industry.

"Six of the top 10 tuition assistance recipients are for- profits -- American Public Education Inc., Bridgepoint Education Inc., TUI Learning LLC, Apollo Group Inc., Columbia Southern University and Grantham University -- according to the report.

"Tuition Assistance lets active-duty members of the military take college classes, capped at $4,500 per year."

Harvard study finds-profit students have higher unemployment and lower earnings

A new, comprehensive study of private, for-profit institutions finds that students enrolled in these schools "end up with higher unemployment and 'idleness' rates and lower earnings six years after entering programs than do comparable students from other schools, and that they have far greater student debt burdens and defaults rates on their student loans."  The study by three Harvard professors was prepared for the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment.  The comprehensive report is entitled, "The For-Profit Postsecondar School Sector: Nimble Critters or Agile Predators?"

If you have a concern about a particular for-profit school, click here.

Institute of Medical Education student: "We wasted a whole year for nothing"

California state officials are continuing their efforts in shutting down the Bay Area-based Institute of Medical Education over financial and accreditation problems.  More than 250 students who each paid the school thousands of dollars in tuition are dealing with problems relating to non-transferability of credits and lack of accreditation at the school that operated Oakland and San Jose campuses. One of the students effected by the closure told the San Jose Mercury News, "We wasted a whole year for nothing."

The Googasian Firm, P.C. is investigating the closure, following its representation in class actions of thousands of students harmed by other for-profit schools.  Persons wishing to share their concerns about the the Institute of Medical Education with Googasian Firm attorneys may do so here.

New Bill Attempts to Protect Vets From Unscrupulous For-Profit Colleges

Legislation introduced this week in Washington, D.C. aims to close a loophole that encourages unscrupulous for-profit colleges from taking advantage of military veterans in enrollment practices.
The Military and Veterans Education Protection Act would discontinue the current practice of allowing GI Bill funds and other defense-related education programs from being counted as "private funding" by for-profit schools, which are required to have at least 10 percent of their revenue from private sources.  Due to the loophole, unscrupulous for-profit schools target veterans in an effort to lure them to enroll in their programs, thereby helping the schools' satisfy their 10-percent requirement.
A host of Democratic Senators introduced the bill this week in the U.S. Senate, including Sen Al Franken (D-Minn), Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), Sen. Tom Casper (D-Del.), and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).  A report on the bill can be read here.
Deceptive enrollment practices are a chronic problem in the for-profit school industry.  If you have a concern about a for-profit school and its tactics, share it at www.forprofitschoolwatchdog.net.