Florida Metropolitan University "Settles" With AG over Transfer of Credit "Allegations"

Florida Metropolitan University, has morphed into Everest University and "settled" the Florida AG's inquiry into their transfer of credit wrongdoing. The settlement is humorously redundant and rather hilarious as they basically are going to agree to do what they were already doing, which was "assisting" their students in transferring credits which they knew were not transferable and are still not transferable. This is tantamount to Kevin Trudeau settling an action with the FTC by assisting persons who bought a phony cancer cure, with having the cancer cure work. Coral calcium doesn't cure cancer and the credits that FMU assured its students would transfer to regionally accredited schools are not going to suddenly be transferable simply because most FMU is going to "assist" the students in transferring them. If the portion of the settlement wherein the FMU/Everest will be forced to "better disclose" the fact that the credits do not transfer or i.e., stop lying about them transferring, then it will be beneficial.

Nationally accredited schools complain about the fact that regionals will not take their credits. Whether or not this rejection is fair or not is not the issue, they know that their is a transfer of credit problem, yet do not disclose it to their prospective students and then point to the plight of the students who predictably cannot transfer the credits. So they use the students as unwilling food solders and designated victims in their fight with the regionals. This is illustrated very well by this statement in the article:

"FMU representatives have long maintained that the school has been up-front with prospective students. They also say the problem lies with the transfer schools, for wrongly rejecting credible FMU credits."

The absurd contradictions in that statement would torch any brain cell trying to deal with it. So don't try, you will only hurt yourself. If FMU had been upfront with the students about known credit transfer issues, why would those students be surprised that their credits would not transfer? FMU is like a car dealership that sells you a car that they warrant is perfect when you know it isn't and then getting angry at the unaffiliated service station that will not fix it for free. What's worse still, the cars can never be fixed!

Corinthian Colleges Settles California Lawsuit

One of the largest players in the lucrative "business" of for-profit education, Corinthian Colleges, has settled a lawsuit with the California Attorney General's Office. The hits just keep on coming apparently, leaving one wondering if there are any for-profit schools which are not attempting to cheat their students or marks. Corinthian will pay $6.5 million to settle a lawsuit "alleging" that the chain engaged in deceptive business practices by lying about their job placement record. This is an extremely common practice among for-profit schools, along with lying about accreditation or the transferability of credits, ala Crown College or Florida Metropolitan University. For-profit education's business model favors the bottom line at the expense of the students and thus is fatally flawed. There is a press release from the California Attorney General's Office which includes a copy of the complaint and the final judgment. There are so many instances of students being fleeced by these schools that one might wonder if any of these schools are legitimate. When you have the leaders in the for profit industry admitting that they are lying about their capabilities, then can the others be far behind? The for profit education industry is very much like the health club industry according to this article about American Intercontinental University.

For-Profits Want Their Credits Accepted By Regionals To Increase Profits, Not For Concern For Their Students.

Since 2001 nationally accredited schools, which are overwhelmingly, for-profit, career, technical and vocational, have had the Transfer of Credit Blues as detailed in the Chronical of Higher Education and have been working to make it more difficult for regionally accredited schools to reject their credits, if not compel them to accept them. This last failure to accomplish this feat has to be frustrating. As I have stated before, they are fundamental reasons why nationally accredited schools which are trade, technical, career and vocational schools are fundamentally different from regionally accredited schools, which are academic. One of the nationals' biggest arguments is that the Department of Education recognizes both accreditations as a reason why regionally accredited schools should accept their credits. This is a bogus argument however, the Department of Education does not set educational standards, the accrediting agencies do, so the fact that the Department recognizes an accrediting agency does not mean that they are all equal in requirements and quality.

One of the reasons that nationally accredited schools have fought so hard to make it hard for regionals to reject their credits, is not because of any concern for their students. If their credits were transferable, this would enhance the value of their schools aka their businesses and investment.

In an article in Inside Higher Education, Elise Scanlon, executive director of the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology and Mark Pelesh, executive vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs at Corinthian Colleges, Inc. "both acknowledged, as has been clear in the for-profit sector’s push for new rules or laws on transfer of credit, that part of the reason the issue is so important to commercial colleges is because of what the perceived discrimination says to students and others about their institutions."

Many of for-profit students have complained about the fact the their credits do not transfer to traditional universities and some have sued. Ironically enough, Nancy Broff, general counsel for the Career College Association (CCA), which represents for-profit schools once said: "Students often don't know if their credits will transfer until after switching schools. Most students and parents are unaware of the pitfalls they may encounter if they switch from a career college to a traditional four-year institution." Obviously if the nationally accredited schools are petitioning the government to have them "regulate" acceptance of their credits by regionals, they know there is a problem. Strange how many of their students are not informed of this, huh?

In other words, the real problem, is that many nationally accredited schools purposely don't tell their students of the transfer of credit problem before they enroll! Some go further, and lie and state that the credits transfer, though they know they don't, e.g. Crown College and Florida Metropolitan University.

For-Profit's Lose Out On Transfer of Credits Clause - Money Can't Buy Everything

Well the Senate has revealed the Higher Education Renewal Act and after a cruel feint, that almost gave this blogger a restless night, the for-profit education industry and their campaign contributions have failed to bend reality to their liking again. Despite the fact, that it was included in an earlier draft, there will be no provision mandating that traditional academic universities not solely take into account accreditation when considering whether or not to accept credits from for-profit nationally accredited schools which are overwhelmingly career, technical and vocational in nature. Now that's a mouthful but in essence, as we stated before, for-profit, nationally accredited schools have wanted legislation that dictates that regionally accredited schools cannot reject their transfer credits just because they come, well, from nationally accredited schools.

Now nationally accredited, for-profit schools have been screaming that they are being discriminated against when regionally accredited schools consider the accreditation of nationally accredited schools when making a determination whether or not to accept credits transfered from those schools. Ironically enough, though for-profit schools trumpet the virtues of the free enterprise system, they have sought recourse in the regulatory process, at least as concerns righting this perceived wrong. They have appeared to be on the precipice of such a victory several times, especially with a Republican Congress quite sympathetic to their "plight". However, the Republicans didn't have enough time to pass their version of the Higher Education Act renewal which would have included this language.

When that Congress was replaced by a Democrat one, the Senator of Education, Margret Spelling (pictured) and her Commission on the Future of Higher Education set about to rewrite the accrediting rules to include this provision. What was interesting about this committee that was appointed to rewrite the accrediting rules is the fact that it was overly weighted with representatives of the for-profit education industry while no members of the research and liberal universities who would most be affected by this clause were on the committee. It was as if the Department of Education was trying ensure the outcome by the selection of the persons on the rule making committee. Even with things weighted toward a "positive outcome, the vote to include the transfer of credit provision still failed. As "Inside Higher Education" reported, the person who voted against the provision was then "urged" to resign her seat on the rules committee. That would have resulted in the transfer of credit passage passing.

Well Congress watched Ms. Spelling's attempt to circumvent Congress's jurisdiction build in a series of rule making meetings on accreditation and sent several signals of its discontent, including, a letter from several members of Congress, a letter to Spelling from Lamar Alexander, a republican senator and former secretary of education, protestations from the states, finally in its proposed passage of the higher education act Congress has prohibited the Secretary of Education would prohibit the Education Department from changing federal regulations on colleges’ transfer of credit policies. In fact, Spellings conceded that Congress had trumped her and that her department would not issue new regulations.

For-profits have contributed much money toward getting this provision passed, alas, to no end and that would appear to be one of the reasons that Republicans and the Republican Secretary of Education has pursued this transfer of credit legislation and then rule change. The Department of Education is filled with refugees from for-profit education and the House Committee governing Education was headed by two republican representatives who took a great deal of contributions from for-profit education. Well, money can't buy you everything.