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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Belford High School Can Be Sued In Federal District Court

A federal district judge in Detroit ruled today that a purported online high school, Belford High School, can be sued in the United States.  Contending that it was a "Panama-based" educational institution,  Belford had sought dismissal from the case on the grounds that they did not have sufficient contacts with Michigan, where the lawsuit was filed.  The opinion and order from the federal district judge ruled otherwise, allowing a class action against Belford to proceed in federal court in Detroit.   The class action lawsuit alleges that Belford High School is an internet scam that defrauds students by offering them "valid" and "accredited" high school diploma when, in fact, the "school" actually has no authority to issue such diplomas.   For further information on the lawsuit, visit
www.belfordlawsuit.com.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Everest College Recruiter Details Sales Tactics

A news report details a recent court filing in which a former admissions officer at for-profit Everest College asserts that the school instructed recruiters to make prospective students "feel hopeless" and gave recruiters financial incentives for meeting quotas.   This is just another example of the pervasive problem that occurs in the sales-driven "admissions offices" of for-profit institutions, where misrepresentation are frequently made by sales people whose livelihoods depend on meeting enrollment targets.   If you have concerns about what is being said or has been said at a for-profit school you've attended or worked for, feel free to share it with us at The Googasian Firm, 1-877-540-8333.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Education Trust Report Documents Graduation Rate Problems at University of Phoenix

Here is a link to the Education Trust report released this week that has received great public attention.   It documents, among other things, pervasively low six-year graduation rates at the granddaddy of all for-profit colleges, University of Phoenix.   At the Detroit campus, for example, the six-year graduation rate is 9 percent, according to the report.

SF Chronicle Examines For-Profit College Problems

Another nationally recognized newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, has published a story on the plight of students attending for-profit schools, including those at Argosy University and Everest College.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

New Study Details Problems with For-Profit College Debt and Graduation Rates

The Newark Star Ledger reports on a new study by the non-profit Education Trust revealing serious problems in for-profit education.   According to the study, "Only one in five students who enrolls in a for-profit college graduates within six years, and they’re likely to rack up far more debt than students at private and public colleges, according to a recent study."  The study also details how for-profit colleges have grown 10 times faster than traditional colleges in the last decade.   

Sunday, October 24, 2010

For-Profit Educator: "Gainful Employment" Rules Needed

Great recent op-ed piece recently in The New York Times from a for-profit education teacher who favors the Department of Education's "gainful employment" rules that the for-profit education lobby is attempting to block  An excerpt:
"It’s disturbingly easy to get accepted, receive thousands of dollars in loans and then flunk out with crippling debt and no degree to show for it. I’m about to fail 4 out of 11 students in one of my classes because they simply stopped showing up. Some students will fail anywhere, but at this rate it’s clear that many of them should never have been sold on the program in the first place.
I’ve also been on the other end of these sales tactics. I once looked into taking a class at a for-profit college. The admissions counselor was quite skillful at avoiding my questions about costs, and pressed me to enroll in a full degree program, despite my repeated refusals."

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Student Accuses Centura College Of Lying About Credentials

A laid off worker who enrolled in Virginia-based Centura College is accusing the for-profit school in a new lawsuit of misrepresenting its eligibility for federal student aid, according to a news report, http://tinyurl.com/2ey4zmy.    One of the allegations -- that the school's misrepresentations have dealyed the student's ability to "getback on his feet and reestablish his financial stability" -- points to a common problem for students who are harmed by misconduct at for-profit schools:   Students often lose the opportunity to pursue higher education because circumstances -- finanical and otherwise -- now preclude them from returning to the point they were at when they enrolled in the schools in the first place.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Westwood College Challenged By Its Accrediting Body

The Denver Post reports, http://tinyurl.com/3azk56x, that Westwood College -- one of the nation's fastest growing for-profit colleges -- is in trouble with its accrediting body.   The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges has notified Westwood that that its Denver North campus is on probation due to concerns about student achievement and employment, as well as "how the school handles student complaints and recruitment."   These are common problems in the for-profit education industry, and the accrediting body is to be applauded for undertaking this scrutiny.
If you have concerns about Westwood or another for-profit school with regard to its recruitment practices or its record of student achievement and employment, you can share your concerns with attorneys at The Googasian Firm, P.C. via e-mail at contact@googasian.com.

Corinthian Colleges Launches Marketing Campaign Against "Gainful Employment" Rule

An Orange County, California news report, http://tinyurl.com/2dmsodo, details the efforts of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. to oppose via a marketing campaign proposed federal rules that linking federal student aid to demonstrable success in program graduates gaining employment and repaying their loans.   It is no surprise that the for-profit sector would mount a marketing effort -- indeed, sales jobs are at the core of what these schools do to convincie working adults to incur huge debt to pursue what often prove to be empty promises.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The For-Profit College Scam -- Pocketing Tax Dollars and Subsidizing Economic Inequality

Here's a must-read investigative piece from the progressive site AlterNet:  http://tinyurl.com/263tmvy. Among the highlights:  The top-10 executives at for-profit schools earn an average of $7 million per year.

For-Profits Lobby Congressional Democrats

The Miami Herald reports, http://tinyurl.com/2d86gpo, that several members of Congress have received campaign contributions from for-profit shcools and thieir lobbying gouprs -- and signed onto a letter urging the U.S. Department of Education to put the brakes on a the proposed gainful employment rule that will pose a major problem for for-profit schools that sell overpromise and underdeliver in the expensive programs they sell.   ProPublica has a similar story, http://tinyurl.com/2854tqk, about lobbying money flowing in to influence the gainful employment rule.  And here's another fine story on the same important subject:  http://tinyurl.com/2587d4n.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Diploma Mills Can Be Dangerous Business

This article out of Libya, http://tinyurl.com/2ed4ezt, powerfully demonstrates how serious diploma mill scammers can be about plying their trade. . .

For-Profit Industry Huddles In New Regulatory Environment

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports, http://tinyurl.com/28xfam5, that an annual investors conference for the for-profit education industry is attracitng great interest at a turbulent time for those in the business of making money from selling education and traiing programs to adults.  

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The GAO Report and Video That Has Shaken The For-Profit School Industry

The August 2010 GAO report regarding deceptive practices in recruiting at for-profit schools has rocked the for-profit school world, and ushered in what  is a long-overdue new era of regulatory oversight over the industry.   The report and accompanying video are required reading (and viewing) for anyone concerned about the harm that for-profit schools cause by overpromising and underdelivering to adults seeking to better themselves through higher education:  http://tinyurl.com/364wvge.   If you have concerns about a specific for-profit college, contact The Googasian Firm, at degreefraud@googasian.com or visit www.stopdegreefraud.com.

Student Loan Defaults Rise - Especially At For-Profits

NPR reports, http://tinyurl.com/28d3aoz, that the default rate for student loan borrowers has increased -- especially at for-profit colleges that now enroll one out of every four of students borrowing money to pay for higher education.  The story reports,  "Put another way, students at for-profits are twice as likely to default as students at nonprofits. [Jame] Kvall [a deputy undersecretary at the Department of Education] says that's reason for concern. 'If there's a particular institution that's generating a large number of students who are defaulting, it does raise questions about whether that institution is giving students more debt than they can handle,.' Kvall."   If you have concerns about a for-profit school and its involvement in student-loan borrowing, contact The Googasian Firm, P.C. at degreefraud@googasian.com.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

New Proposed Rule regarding "Gainful Employment" Precipitates Flood of Comments

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports, http://tinyurl.com/26ppqus, that a proposed new rule tying a school's federal student aid eligibility to a "gainful employment" metric has generated "tens of thousands" of comments to the Department of Education in opposition.  The tide of criticism no doubt arises from an orchestrated campaign by for-profit schools that for too long have tapped into federal student aid without any meaningful proof that the educational programs they sell lead to the successful and lucrative careers they promise.    The Department of Education is to be credited for trying to fix this problem, and the fight over the proposed rule should be closely watched.

If you have concerns about whether a for-profit school with which you are familiar actually creates opportunities for gainful employment for its graduates, share it with The Googasian Firm, P.C.   You can e-mail us at degreefraud@googasian.com.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

GAO Investigation Reveals Deceptive Practices

According to a Chronicle of Higher Education report, http://tinyurl.com/2aqjuns, a forthcoming Government Accountability Office report reveals that an undercover investigation of for-profit colleges has revealed widespread improprieties in how prospective students are treated in the recruiting and financial aid process.

Such deceptive practices are, sadly, no surprise, but it is encouraging that public attention is being brought to these activities by the report and a hearing scheduled in the U.S. Senate.

If you wish to share concerns about deceptive practices at a school in which you have enrolled or worked, contact The Googasian Firm,P.C., www.googasian.com, to discuss.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Belford High School lawsuit noted

The Belford High School lawsuit filed by The Googasian Firm against the owners and operators of an internet "accredited high school diploma" scam that has allegedly defrauded thousands of United States citizens out of millions of dollars has been noted by two blogs devoted to coverage of diploma mills and degree fraud: http://tinyurl.com/28ykg3w and http://tinyurl.com/29q9euo.   If you have concerns about Belford High School, share them by visiting http://www.belfordlawsuit.com/.

LA Times: Boom in For-Profits May Be Bust For Taxpayers

The Los Angeles Times looks at many of the problems associated with for-profit colleges, http://tinyurl.com/34bxj85. If you have a concern about a for-profit college taking advantage of it students, share it with The Googasian Firm, which investigates and pursues claims against for-profit schools engaged in deceptive practices. E-mail us at contact@googasian.com.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Frontline special on For-Profit Education

A Frontline documentary on for-profit education airs on PBS on Tuesday night. The program, "College Inc.", features educational entrepreneur Michael Clifford, who owns Grand Canyon University, among others. According to a post in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the documentary includes an interview with a former admissions officer from Ashford University who discusses the expectation that "enrollment advisers" (i.e., sales reps) make 150 calls per day to prospective students and "close on at least 12 students a month."