The for-profit college chain Education Corporation of America is closing down. This is the kind of college that Betsy DeVos adores, wants to deregulate, and hopes will grow. But this one is a goner, leaving students with lots of debt and no education.
“The Education Corporation of America, one of the largest for-profit college chains, announced last week it was immediately closing more than 70 campuses in 21 states. Between fifteen and twenty thousand students are now in the unenviable position of being thousands of dollars in debt with no completed degrees or certifications and, reportedly, little prospect of being able to transfer their academic credits to different schools.
“NBC reports that in some instances, students were told in the middle of class — some of them while in the middle of their certification exams — that their school no longer exists. Their student debt, however, sure does.”
I know that this won’t be received well on this blog, but I don’t understand how anyone can enroll in this scheme with all the “red flags” that are apparent. To pay a huge amount of money for a “certificate” that means essentially nothing, credit will not transfer into a college or university, or only offers the chance of a job that pays slightly higher than minimum wage is just ridiculous. These “schools” are buyer beware scenarios. I’m glad another one of these fake schools is closing and I do feel sorry for the people who have been bilked out of thousands of dollars.