John Wabel, Humanitarian to Students ... In His Dreams!

After recovering from laughing so hard at the quote "not a dry eye in the building" in the Seattle Times article referring to the state of Crown College's shuttered employees I was confronted with the Tacoma News Tribune article which quotes John Wabel (pictured with Randi Jones, Director of Education, left, and unknown employee) stating that "That is the only thing that mattered to us then, and it's all that matters now," referring to his efforts to assist students in jumping from the wrecked ship that is Crown College. Strange that he is attempting to help the students now, when he could have provided them much more assistance in not lying to them when they first had the misfortune of crossing the "virtual" threshold of his school and getting their "virtual" education. Instead he and his admission representatives lied about the accreditation of the school and the transferability of their credits. Ironically enough, Mr. Wabel was quoted in a Seattle Times article: "Crown College owner John Wabel remains adamant that Crown credits transfer in many cases." However, if the credits transfer "in many cases" he wouldn't have to be scouring the nation to find a school that accepts them now, so far locating only an obscure online school in Wisconsin which apparently will not take all the credits.

Mr. Wabel laments that his school was closed by the ACCSCT as opposed to the ACCSCT trying to help him place more students in jobs. Mr. Wabel does not identify how the ACCSCT was supposed to assist his school. However, this a continuation of Mr. Wabel's attempt to shift the blame for his own shortcomings. Now its the accreditation's agency's fault that the education that his students pay so dearly for, is inadequate. When he was sued successfully it was the plaintiff's fault. In fact, he is quoted in the article as calling her a liar:

"It did not happen," Wabel said. "We are not wrong, and it sets a precedent for the entire industry. Anybody can make up a story, but what is in writing?"

Well I guess its sets a precedent for the part of the industry -- and for-profit education is indeed an industry -- that lies to its prospective students, which is, well most of the industry. The for-profit education industry is notorious for having admission representatives tell ever increasing fibs about key aspects of the school which are disavowed by the contract. These students who tend to be trusting and somewhat naive, tend to trust the admission representatives who they assume are there to assist them.

John Wabel's Fantasy Land - More on Crown College Closure

Reading Crown College’s press release regarding its closure is hilarious as it speaks of “being removed from the ACCSCT’s list of accrediting schools” in terms most clinical. It's as if losing its accreditation was a coincidental occurrence devoid of any negative connotation attached to Crown College itself. It was if they left the accreditation on the top of their car as they drove off and it fell off, just a happenstance, an unfortunate accident. According to article today in the Tacoma News Tribune, the revocation of Crown's College accreditation by the ACCSCT was the result of Crown's failure to place enough (70%) of the students in the fields they were training for. Thus, one could reasonably conclude that Crown's curriculum, facilities and/or faculty were inferior. Or, it could also be their reputation was such that employers were reluctant to hire their graduates.

The "management" of Crown, attribute their loss of accreditation to the supposed "turmoil" in education and Crown’s lack of nimbleness and finances. It is hard to understand how "turmoil" in education or nimbleness is relevant to their inability to place 70% of their graduates in the jobs they are paying Crown to train them to fill. However, the lack of finance might well be at fault, inasmuch as not enough money is going into the process of education vis a vis promoting or inducing students to attend. The amount of money charged, $17,000 a year for a truncated, quickie education program should pay enough for a good education considering how much less community colleges charge. Perhaps that money was not being properly utilized? More likely that money was obviously not being properly utilized! It was going into John Wabel's and Sheila Mullineaux's collective pockets instead of to a sound system that worked. The fabled Cloudroom that Mr. Wabel totes as so innovative has never worked right according to many of the students I have spoken to.

Crown College Loses ACCSCT Accreditation!

Finally, it has happened, Crown College's accrediting agency the ACCSCT could not ignore the antics and misadventures of John Wabel and Sheila Mullineaux (both pictured) and their merry gang of deceitful thieves who have been running a reverse Robin Hood scam, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich, mainly themselves. They have systematically instructed their admission representatives to lie to students about the transferability of their credits since at least 1998. About 50 victims of this fraud have come forth and the testimony of ten of them was instrumental to the jury finding that Crown College had violated the Consumer Protection Act in early 2006. It takes a "special" person to blatantly lie repeatedly to poor students who are attempting to improve their economical standing. A letter from the ACCSCT dated July 31, 2007, that it has revoked Crown College's accreditation. Unfortunately, many of the students that they swindled will not get their day in court or any other recompense. One of the reasons that Crown College was able to get away with their little charade was because they fell into a regulatory crack. Since they granted degrees the were not under the auspices of the WorkForce Board. Since they had been operating in Washington state for some time accredited by an agency recognized by the Department of Eduction, to wit, the ACCSCT they were exempt from the HEC Board. By virtue of the ACCSCT pulling their accreditation, they have lost that exemption. If they "reopen" they will have to apply to the HEC Board for approval. Hard to see how they will merit such approval and if they do, the HEC Board will certainly by a more stringent master than the ACCSCT and will not put up for their deceptive practices.

Hmmm, does that mean that regulation works, well eventually maybe and helped out by other factors, mainly a trio of successful lawsuits and the resulting mass of bad publicity. The ACCSCT has had Crown College on probation more times than Alan Sandler had bad dates. In fact, they were on probation when they were first sued back in January of 2006. A Pierce County jury found that they had violated the Washington State Consumer Protection Act and the judge awarded a $6,000 judgment and $77,000 in attorney fees. They settled another lawsuit for $87,000. Those lawsuits shined a decidedly unflattering light on the school. According to an article in the Puget Sound Business Journal, this may well be the final demise of a school which was built on not too subtle lies and deception.

There is an article in the Seattle Times about Crown College closing. I thought I might die from lack of oxygen, it being very difficult to breath while laughing. "Not a dry eye in the building." Who knew that crooks could cry, well apparently when it comes to be separated from their money. I wonder how many dry eyes are among their many student victims. Sheila Mullineux talks about how they are the Little Engine That Could School which is apparently the party line. In reality, they are a school that has generated money based completely on lies and they have lied with astounding impunity and a disregard for reality that is astonishing in its scope. They have probably built up such an immunity to truth such that their tongues might break out in sores if they spoke it! John Wabel denials that Crown's admission representatives lied to prospective students ratchets up in direct proportion to the evidence they they did. At the Gonzalez trial, one of the jury members told me that Mr. Wabel was his own worst enemy and he continues to be. In a Tacoma News Tribune they claim they will do some restructuring and reopen. Perhaps they mean the installation of truth monitors...

Approximately 50, and counting, former students have come forward and told attorneys or news media that they have been told by Crown College admission representatives that Crown College's credits would transfer to regionally accredited schools. Crown lost one lawsuit and settled two. There are two more pending lawsuits right now. Dale Pryor v. Killebrew/Dalton, Inc., John Wabel and Sheila Mullineux, Pierce County Case No. 07 2 060885 and Roberta Swigert and Janelle Page v. Killebrew/Dalton, Inc. and John Wabel, also in Pierce County Superior Court. In the second lawsuit, the plaintiffs have schedule a motion for default as the defendants have not filed an answer.

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-Profit Education Regulation Failure

This article in the New York Times, illustrates how easy it is for black opps entrepreneurs such as Robert A. Berger, to weave their way through the blind spots between the for-profit regulatory triad which consists of state, federal and accreditors. There are many businessmen who see for-profit education as a way to make profits with no regard for the welfare of students or the quality of education. This is interesting in light of what is going on in California and the tug of war between the for-profits and consumer advocates over how much regulation is proper. Obviously, after reading this article you would be left with the thought that there wasn't enough regulation or the regulating bodies need to do a better job communicating with each other. The Department of Education can disqualify a school from receiving aid which is of course the lifeblood of these schools, however, it cannot close them, it leaves that to the states. A particularly pernicious operator can exploit the system and this man was quite willing to do that, even requesting financial aid in the name of other schools when his school no longer qualified.

This story also shows how difficult it is close a for-profit school down, ten years in this case, even with the regulation that we do have and even with the outlandish acts of the perpetrator of this fraud. Dozens of students swindled and the only recourse they have is to sue the school. In this case, not even the state can get several millions of dollars from the school or its operator so what there is not much chance of students getting their money back. These illustrates how a for-profit school is still one of the surest scams available.

Regulation Should Trump Profits

For-Profit Education, like all enterprises centered on profit abhor regulation and love to scream that the marketplace should be the arbiter of all. If some companies operate on the margin and some consumers get swindled, its unfortunate, pitiful but a necessary consequence of the success of others who benefit from a "usually efficient" system unfettered by regulation. In other words, free enterprise, with the emphasis on the free, and the resulting profits, are more important that the victims of those businesses who abuse the unfettered marketplace. Regulation may curb profits as it protects consumers. There is always a balancing act between the two, consumer protection should always trump regulation especially in a field which is not a luxury and is so important to the success and well being of any member of society, such as education. That is the crux of the issue the legislation is wrestling with in California and I trust that the right side will win out. Profits are useless if they come at the expense of consumers.

California Regulation of For-Profits and Why National Accreditation Does Not Stop Fraud

Per a Inside Higher Education article, California's Governator characterized the statute and regulations that created Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, which regulates for-profit vocational post-secondary schools, “fundamentally flawed,” in a message vetoing an extension of it. This will leave the state's for-profit, career, technical and vocational school industry unregulated if the legislation is not replaced by July 1, 2007. Actually the statute worked rather well until it was amended in 1997 by a Republican legislature in response to complaints from for-profit schools as explained by a 2000 article San Francisco Weekly which details the the history of regulation of for-profit trade schools in California. It is a must read for anybody wondering about how California vocational school regulation came to this somber state. The article details how California went, from its haven as a diploma mill in the early 1980s, to the passage of the Maxine Waters School Reform and Student Protection Act in 1989, which created the Council for Private and Postsecondary Education and which cleaned up the for-profit education. That act expired in 1997 and Governor Pete Wilson vetoed an extension of it. Then of course, the for-profit vocational schools lobbied to eviscerate it and the Republican legislature gave the for-profit industry its wish and diluted the protections in the original legislation not to mention reducing the contributions schools had to make to a tuition reimbursement fund. Thus here were are now..

The bill being argued before the California legislature would exempt institutions regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or WASC, from the state’s private college oversight system, which has always focused on unaccredited, or nationally accredited for-profit colleges. This is not new, the old law also exempted WASC. However, nationally accredited schools want the same exemption arguing that their accreditation is just as good as regional accreditation and is recognized by the Department of Education.

This is an argument these schools have been circulating for some time now, just like water in the toilet before it hits the drain. The schools who have a history of deceiving students are nationally schools, Crown College (Tacoma), Court Reporting Institute, Florida Metropolitan University, Brooks College, Bryman College and these are just the ones that come readily to mind. Did their accreditors do anything to stop them from deceiving students? That would be negative. Court Reporting Institute (CRI) was shut down by the Washington state licensing agency and finally filed for bankruptcy protection while the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) did nothing and that isn't the first time this has happened. The Department of Education and New York State regulators shut down two ACICS accredited schools while ACICS stood idly by. If California is going to exempt nationally accredited career, technical and vocational schools from its regulatory scheme, why bother having regulations at all?

National accreditors have shown precious little inclination to regulate the schools they accredit. Accrediting isn't regulation I guess. I watched while educators and students sent extremely serious complaints to the ACCSCT about Crown College and yet they continued to deceive students and offer a sub par education. ACICS ignored the problems with CRI as the state finally shut them down. These accreditors time appears to be taken up more with lobbying for their schools and against regulating them.