My former college shut down! Yay!

[sanantone]

It wasn't a college I attended; it was the nationally accredited, for-profit college I worked at for a year. I posted on this forum about how this college overcharged for certificate and degree programs that lead to low-paying jobs. Their only decent programs were LVN and RN. The criminal justice program I taught in was under scrutiny because most of the graduates were getting low-paying jobs that required no more than a high school diploma or GED. My biggest issue was the school's recruiting practices. I later found out that the admissions reps had lied to my students telling them things such as they'll be able to get a job as a police officer without having to go through the academy or that the San Antonio Police Department will pay them more for having a degree (this is only true if the degree is from an RA school).

Anyway, I found out the school shut down last year. The accounting and finance offices were mishandling financial aid funds. To be fair, once the owners found out, they self-reported to the U.S. Department of Education and offered to repay what was owed. Unfortunately for them, the government has been really cracking down on for-profit colleges. In the past, schools like University of Phoenix just got slaps on the wrist for mishandling financial aid. The school I worked for was disqualified from receiving financial aid, so they had to shut down. I'd like to say I feel bad for the students, but I don't. Similar to the ITT Tech situation, colleges that normally wouldn't take their credits are stepping in to help. When I worked there, an associate's degree cost $28,000. The Alamo Community Colleges offer the same associate's degrees for about $4,000. You'd be amazed at how many students didn't compare costs.

This college also violated state law by not giving formal notification of its closure ahead of time. They knew for months that they were in trouble, but only sent out a notice to students and the State of Texas the day they closed their doors. Students and employees showed up to school and work to see a sign on the door saying that the school was permanently closed.