So there I was just 3 months from graduation

37 thoughts on “So there I was just 3 months from graduation”

1. THAT BITES

   I think you should join the law suit. I think you should try to get your money back for tuition, money for the job you didn’t have through all this time, and money to pay for the next college. I guess the tuition reimbursement could go toward the next college, but it probably would not be enough.

   Even though many other schools will not give you the credits, give yourself credit for a job well done. You’ve worked hard and earned good grades, that’s worth a lot, you know!!!

   Start doing your research to find a college that will accept even most of your credits and keep going. Don’t give up. It’s worth it to have that degree when it comes to having it on your resume and under your belt.

   I am so sorry to hear such horrible news. But keep your chin up and do the best you can do!

   Christy

   1. BCTI Horos Graduate

      I attened BCTI Tacoma in 2001 was the “Sudent Leader” and “Honors Graduate”. I am trying to get involved with this lawsuit. If anyone knows of anyone that atended get them into this suit. The more the better.

      Bryan Staerns

      1. bcti lawsuit

         I would also like to find out how to participate in this lawsuit. I’m paying a lot of money for promises that weren’t fulfilled Please forward any info. Thanks

      2. I attended BCTI

         Did you ever find out how to get in on the law suit? I agree, we are paying money for knowledge we didn’t gain.

2. I got [screwed] too

   I am a graduate of BCTI both phases. And the best job they got me was a telemarketer. All they do is get lists off of worksource and say go there. They also lie about their contacts in such companies. BCTI sucks and ruined the lives of many people.

3. BCTI Law Suit

   Would you please email me who the attorney is that you have been contacted by, I am trying to find an attorney that is handling or creating a class action suit against BCTI here in Oregon, or if the Washington attorney is also handling students here, I am not quit in you situation of having only 3 months befor the final day, here in Salem we had a very unqualified staff,I am not going to bore you with my story, I feel that BCTI should be required to refund all tuituation as there schools were unable to provide the education that many of us have paid for before the schools closed, and you are so correct, I also was led to belive that my credentials would be transferable to other training facilities/schools, what a surprise to find out that what i had paid for was not acceptable anywhere. Thanks for your help. cindey g

   1. Can anyone Help??

      I went to BCTI in 98. They didnt help me, in fact when i graduated, and went back to get help with finding a job, they told me that I would have to wait, they had to focus on the class that was about to graduate. It was such a waste of money, and I know that most if not all of the students in my class, we all went back to our old jobs we had before BCTI. What a waste.

      I want to know if there is a class action suit going on? I went to the school in Vancouver,WA. Is there a suit going on in Washigton?? Does anybody know??

      Thanks

   2. BCTI

      Cindey help me can you help me out? I am trying to find out what position Bret R Johnson had with BCTI. He is employed at a school in La and the school is already going down. Please email ASAP chall9494@aol.com Thanks, Chris

   3. class action suit BCTI

      I am a past student of BCTI do you know who the attorney is handling any class action suit in Washington Thank Paula

4. So, did you graduate? Did you

   So, did you graduate? Did you get a job?

5. Crown College

   I have heard that 2 or more students have been expelled from Crown for talking about this law suit in June alone. This is incredible!!!

6. link to lawyers

   http://www.lundahlaw.com/crowncollege/index.htm

7. Link to lawyer and suit

   http://www.lundahlaw.com/crowncollege/index.htm

   1. I’m filling out the

      I’m filling out the paperwork now for the links supplied. I graduated in May of 2000. The worst money I’ve ever spent, and I’ve hated myself ever since for going to BCTI.

   2. BCTI Lawyer

      Do you know how I can get in contact with a lawyer handling the BCTI lawsuit? Or where I can go to look?

      1. Apparently for

         Apparently for Oregon

         Charles Robinowitz

         1211 SW 5th Ave # 1150 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: (503) 226-1464

8. Lawyers for BCTI

   WSBA Lawyer Profile For Washington Business Career Training Institute

   Pierce County Superior Court Civil Case 05-2-05763-2 Case Title: ANITA WRIGHT VS. BUSINESS COMPUTER TRAINING INSTITUTE INC

   Member Name Darrell L. Cochran WSBA Bar # 22851 Law Firm Gordon Thomas Honeywell ET AL Admit Date 10/15/1993 Address 1201 Pacific Ave Ste 2100 PO Box 1157 Tacoma, WA 98401-1157 Status Active Phone (253) 620-6531 Fax (253) 620-6565 Email dcochran@gth-law.com

   For Oregon: Charles Robinowitz

   1211 SW 5th Ave # 1150 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: (503) 226-1464

9. What a Scam

   Writing on behalf of my daughter who “graduated” September 2004 from BCTI without her promised portfolio that she worked diligently on to put together; no promised job counseling (at least until we complained vehemently, then all she received were leads to tele-marketing firms, receptionist positions, and even a restaurant hostess!); and, as it turns out, absolutely useless training (my daughter was literally laughed at during a phone interview when she informed the company that she completed BCTI training). We have contacted the Oregon attorney handling the class action suit and will definitely be pursuing it. I encourage ANY former BCTI student to do the same – these jerks need to pay heavily for the incredible scam they inflicted on you!

10. Law Street Journal weighs in on schools like Crown and BCTI

    Credit Problem Battle Over Academic Standards Weighs On For-Profit Colleges Many Traditional Schools Don’t Accept Degrees; Congress Ponders New Law Mr. Pitts: ‘4 Years for Nothing’ By JOHN HECHINGER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL September 30, 2005; Page A1 TAMPA, Fla. — For-profit colleges are booming. But a new fight between these upstarts and the education establishment raises a key question: How much are degrees from for-profits really worth? Some angry graduates are suing for-profit colleges, claiming that they were misled into thinking their course work would be accepted elsewhere. Traditional colleges rarely recognize the work done by students at for-profits, arguing their academic standards aren’t high enough. So these students often have to start over if they want to go elsewhere to complete or advance their studies. Now Congress appears poised to pass legislation that favors the for-profits, a group of heavily marketed schools that are often owned by publicly traded companies. Traditional colleges — the public and private nonprofit institutions from the Ivy League to state universities that long have formed the backbone of U.S. higher education — are fighting the changes. The traditional colleges question the rigor of many of these newer rivals, which offer degrees in such subjects as auto repair and massage therapy but have also branched out into business and other courses of study. The eight regional associations that have long set standards for traditional colleges recognize only a few of the thousands of for-profit colleges. These gatekeepers evaluate everything from the faculty’s level of preparedness to the quality of libraries. Meanwhile, some for-profit graduates have been left with heavy debts and unfulfilled goals. Terry Pitts dreamed of quitting his job as a prison guard and becoming a lawyer. So he enrolled at Florida Metropolitan University in Tampa for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Corinthian Colleges Inc., one of the nation’s largest chains of for-profit colleges, owns FMU. Before graduating from FMU with a nearly straight-A average in 2003, the Gulf War veteran says he was dismayed to discover local law schools wouldn’t accept his degree. He says that three years earlier Dolly Brown, then FMU’s dean of students, assured him that he would have no problem using his FMU degree to qualify for law school. Now 35 years old and married with two children, Mr. Pitts works as a construction foreman, lives in a mobile home and has $56,000 in student loans from his FMU education. He says he can’t afford the tuition for a recognized bachelor’s degree from another college. “I spent four years for nothing,” he says. Across the country, former students of for-profit colleges have filed at least half a dozen lawsuits, alleging they were misled about whether other colleges would accept their course credits or degrees. FMU has faced four such suits, including one filed on behalf of Mr. Pitts and about 100 other former students. They say admissions officials, administrators and instructors told them repeatedly they could take their work to traditional colleges. Corinthian in a statement calls the complaints “baseless.” On its Web site, FMU says it is a “qualified institution of higher learning with approved programs of study.” There is no mention course credits may not be transferable or that FMU degrees might not be accepted elsewhere. But Corinthian, like many for-profit colleges, says it has told students in writing before enrollment that it doesn’t guarantee credits will transfer. An independent arbitrator recently backed FMU’s defense in a court case. Through a spokeswoman, Ms. Brown, now a regional manager at Corinthian, denies promising Mr. Pitts that other colleges would accept his work and says he may have misconstrued a discussion about a state system that makes certain credits easy to transfer. Until recently, such disputes have had little impact on the success of for-profits, whose enrollment is growing four times as fast as that at traditional colleges. It now stands at 1.7 million students, up 42% from five years ago, and accounts for 9% of all U.S. college and graduate students, according to Eduventures Inc., a Boston research firm. Convenient campuses, flexible hours and online courses have spurred this success. But multiple lawsuits questioning the quality of the for-profits have weighed on the stock prices of onetime highfliers, including Corinthian, Career Education Corp. and Apollo Group Inc., which owns University of Phoenix. With growing concern over the rejection of their students’ work, the for-profit industry is pushing a bill that would make it more difficult for traditional colleges to reject course credits and degrees from their schools. It is now pending before Congress as part of broader higher-education legislation. The Republican leadership and Bush administration support the legislation, including the credit-transfer provision and others that would provide more financial-aid dollars to these institutions. Mr. Bush has generally supported private initiatives in education, such as government-funded vouchers that grade-school children can use to attend private schools. Supporters say the for-profit colleges are providing a valuable service to students, many of them low-income, who need skills and training they aren’t getting from traditional colleges. The Senate is considering similar legislation, which is expected to pass by early next year. Traditional state and private colleges could still reject credits and degrees from for-profits, but they would have to provide more detailed reasons for rejecting the credits. Traditional schools say it would be too expensive to evaluate each transcript from a for-profit school to see if it passes muster. So they argue that a rule against blanket rejection of degrees and coursework from such schools would end up diluting the value of college degrees. For-profit schools, which are heavy contributors to congressional campaigns, “are buying legislation for their otherwise suspect goods,” says Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. At the center of the debate is the little-known system for ensuring quality control in U.S. higher education. Traditional colleges receive stamps of approval from eight regional accrediting commissions, whose charters typically date to the 19th century. These agencies are voluntary outfits supported by dues from schools. They evaluate colleges on measures such as the degrees held by faculty, professor-to-student ratios and the number of volumes in school libraries. While 3,000 traditional colleges have this accreditation, only about 90 for-profit colleges do. Instead, more than 3,000 for-profits get their seals of approval from newer so-called national accrediting bodies. Many of these groups were created in the 1970s to certify trade schools. In their reviews, the newer agencies focus more on schools’ job-placement records than on academic credentials, officials say. Corinthian says 80% of its graduates get jobs related to their fields of interest. ‘Costly and Anticompetitive’ In Congressional testimony last year, Corinthian Chairman David Moore called the traditional colleges’ rejection of credits issued by for-profit schools “unfair, costly and anticompetitive.” Only 18% of schools without regional accreditation had their course credits accepted by traditional institutions, according to a 2001 study by the Career Training Foundation, which is funded by for-profits. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes both the traditional and the newer accreditation systems in providing government backing for loans and other aid to students attending colleges. Schools with the newer accreditation often tell prospects they are “fully accredited.” But students such as Christopher Dacus, who studied automotive technology three years ago at for-profit Lincoln Technical Institute in Grand Prairie, Texas, find that their credentials can have drawbacks. Mr. Dacus attended a 10-month program at the school, a unit of West Orange, N.J.-based Lincoln Educational Services Corp. Now 22, Mr. Dacus says that before he enrolled, he asked if he could apply his work toward a two-year associate’s degree at a junior college. He says a Lincoln admissions counselor whose name he can’t remember replied that he could. But he says some community colleges later turned down his Lincoln credits, citing the school’s lack of accreditation from one of the traditional regional groups. Mr. Dacus says he later got a job at an auto dealer that required no more than a high-school diploma. He and his family owe $16,000 in government-backed student loans. Scott Shaw, a Lincoln senior vice president, says Mr. Dacus initialed and received forms among his enrollment documents explaining that the transferability of his credits “may be limited.” In Tacoma, Wash., the for-profit Crown College faces two lawsuits from former students who claim the school misled them about whether coursework from the school, which is accredited by one of the newer bodies, would transfer. In a court declaration related to the suits, David H.Elder Jr., a Crown instructor from 1999 through 2001, says students complained to him about the transfer problem. Mr. Elder says he asked John Wabel, Crown’s owner, about the transfer problems in May 2001. Mr. Elder says Mr. Wabel told him to “forget about it” and said getting regional accreditation would be too expensive. Mr. Elder says he was asked to leave Crown over the dispute. Mr. Wabel says the conversation never occurred, and the school denies the allegations in the suits, filed in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma. Mr. Wabel says Crown discloses in writing that it doesn’t guarantee credits will transfer. Few companies have faced as much controversy over transfers as Corinthian, founded in 1995. The Santa Ana, Calif., company, whose shares trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market, has 128 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Swelled by acquisitions of other colleges, Corinthian enrolls 66,000. In the year ended June 30, its revenue was $964 million, up 21% from the previous year. But profit, which had tripled between 2001 and 2004, dropped 23%, to $58 million. The company blamed high turnover among admissions officers for a slowing in new enrollments. From the company’s initial public offering in 1999 until their peak last year, shares rose in value about 10 times. Since then, amid the lawsuits against Corinthian and other for-profits, as well as government investigations of the industry, shares have lost more than half their value. In Florida, many established institutions shun Corinthian’s FMU, which has 10 campuses with more than 11,000 students. The Tampa campus consists of a two-story, blue-and-white building between a gas station and a self-storage outlet. Across the street is the Wild Nights Gentleman’s Club. In January 2002, FMU applied for membership to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the traditional regional accreditor of institutions such as Duke University and the University of Florida. That August, Ann B. Chard, associate executive director of the regional association’s accrediting commission, replied with a seven-page letter indicating FMU fell short, according to a copy filed as an exhibit in one of the court cases. Ms. Chard’s assessment cited FMU’s “disproportionate number” of part-time faculty members — 417 part-timers versus 134 full time. Ms. Chard also listed more than 50 faculty members who, in most cases, appeared “to lack the formal academic hours/degrees required.” At FMU’s Brandon location in suburban Tampa, one instructor had a nursing degree but taught medical law and ethics. The letter also questioned the size and staffing of the schools’ libraries. In March 2003, FMU withdrew its accreditation application to the Southern Association. Anna Marie Dunlap, Corinthian’s senior vice president for investor relations, says Corinthian was concerned that the accrediting agency required it to freeze expansion during the review, which can take years. Ms. Chard says FMU withdrew so early in the process that “no conclusions can be reached” about whether FMU could have gained membership. Last September, many prospective FMU students received an anonymous email accusing the school of misleading students about accreditation and transferring credits, according to a lawsuit FMU filed against two former admissions reps and five “unnamed co-conspirators.” The suit, filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court in Tampa, accuses the former employees of theft of trade secrets and defamation. The email said an FMU degree could be “a very expensive mistake,” according to a copy filed in court. “You will have great difficulty finding another school that will accept any of the work that you have done here.” Stephen Backhus, a former FMU admissions rep named in the suit, says he wrote and sent the email. He says he felt guilty about enrolling students. “I couldn’t take it anymore,” he says. FMU fired Mr. Backhus in October last year for his role in contacting students. Corinthian’s Ms. Dunlap says the email was “filled with distortions and inaccuracies.” While the company doesn’t track numbers of those who have successfully transferred their credits, she provided names and details of seven students who transferred to schools with traditional regional accreditation. One was Dorian Matthews, 30, who received a bachelor’s in accounting from FMU in Tampa in 2000, then an MBA from the University of Tampa in 2002. In an interview, Ms. Matthews described the transition between the schools as “fine and dandy.” Grant Donaldson, director of public affairs at University of Tampa, says the school generally accepts credits only from regionally accredited schools and doesn’t tend to accept coursework from FMU but has made exceptions for strong applicants. Corinthian says it will “go to bat” to help students get their coursework accepted elsewhere and that those who fail to win over other schools may have weak grades or references. The company also says it provides students with enrollment papers and course catalogs that state the school “neither implies nor guarantees” its credits will be accepted elsewhere. In court, FMU has provided copies of these disclosures initialed by former students, including Mr. Pitts and others suing the school. Corinthian also says students, when enrolling, agreed to submit to a private arbitration panel, rather than sue in court. In one case, filed in Broward County Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale last year, the company succeeded in sending the dispute to a panel. In July, an arbitrator ruled in Corinthian’s favor. Mr. Backhus and former students say these disclosures were buried in the fine print. They say the language — that credits aren’t “guaranteed” to transfer — understates the rarity of getting the work accepted elsewhere. Some former students, such as Mr. Pitts, say they don’t remember signing such disclosures at all. They also contend conversations with school staff and others contradicted the written material. ‘Automatic Response’ Five years ago, Beverly James-Snyder, a student suing FMU, says she told the college before enrolling that she planned to go to law school. She asked whether she could transfer credits to University of South Florida, where she wanted to get her bachelor’s degree. Edward Whittle, an instructor, told her local schools would “have to accept my credits without question,” according to Ms. James-Snyder’s sworn statement filed in court. Through Corinthian’s Ms. Dunlap, Mr. Whittle says he doesn’t recall the conversation but says his “automatic response” to such questions is that “there is no guarantee credits can be transferred.” Ms. James-Snyder, now 40, completed her associate’s degree in paralegal studies in 2002. But when she tried to enroll at University of South Florida that year, “they laughed me out of their office,” she says. She now studies at University of Phoenix, a for-profit school with regional accreditation that accepted only a third of her FMU credits. She owes more than $20,000 in loans for FMU. On the wall of her home office, Ms. James-Snyder used to hang certificates she earned for making the FMU honor role, with her 4.0 grade-point average. She has taken them down. “This degree isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” she says. Write to John Hechinger at john.hechinger@wsj.com

    1. Hi I just started college at

       Hi I just started college at fmu in i belive the first of june of 05. They are trying to say I owe them 10,000 dollars when I was only supose to pay 5,000 after 2 years how can I owe them so much money a lawyer says I cant do nothing cause it is sallie mae I owe and there is nothing i can do about that I was lied to and I didn’t even pass the stupid test the guy at the school wrote the rest of the answers for me they told me that the new test where you didn’t have to have a ged was for women with kids, well that was a lie also cause everyone got in on this new stupid test. I didn’t listen to my husband and now I am stuck with having to pay them over 20,000 for only 2 years of school. They use honest people and people who strive for there education because they have no way to get to ged classes so of course where going to say hey i was in the process of geting my ged when the guy called me I though that what he was saying to me was so so great now I know it was all a lie and im stuck with this school and if i dont pay the loans back I will never be able to get another grant again I hate these people for lieing to all of us we belive in a school and all they did was take us for a ride and scam us out of our money Alawyer told me to tell them that I am going to go to the fla today about how I really got in if they dont give me my original contract which is weird to i didn’t get copies of the first contract with them but this last time I did if you could please give me advise I would greatly appriciate it. ty c angeleyes812005@yahoo.com

       1. Exhibit A

          Clearly, they never provided you the education they promised.

          1. Wall Of Text

             http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wall+of+text

             —
             Matthew P. Barnson

          2. I don’t know it is horriable

             I don’t know it is horriable what is going on. I am so sick to my stomach about this, and I have class wednesday night. How can anyone study and be in class knowing that you,we are being used. If only I had listened to my husband and, not been so determinated about this school I would not be in the mess I am in now. I am telling everyone I go to school there about all the law suites fmu has against them I see there is hundreds of law suites. And they preech to us about lieing and coping other peoples work well they need to be shut down for being frauds and liars. thanks c

             1. Un-phased

                Un-phased, she continues.

             2. I (heart) wikipedia

                Look at the entry I found this morning! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm

                —
                Matthew P. Barnson

             3. Umm…

                Wouldn’t that be “unfazed?” }:)

                Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com

             4. Only

                Only if you received your education from a reputable source.

                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm

                Weed

             5. More on sarcasm

                …sarcasm is usually innate; however, if you would still like to attempt developing this ability, your chances of success would be greatly increased if you are intelligent, or at the least not mentally incapable of detecting and reproducing sarcastic remarks.

                — http://www.sarcasmsociety.com/howtobesarcastic/

                Houston, we have a problem… 👿

                

                —
                Matthew P. Barnson

             6. FUNNIEST

                FUNNIEST PICTURE EVER!

                Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com

             7. I’m SmArt

                Muntgymry Cownty Pubic School’s. C’ant get beter.

                Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com

             8. I tried that first

                I tried that first but my spell-checker didn’t like it. So I did my best on my own. I clearly failed.

             9. BTW

                I’m f***ing with you Paul.. you rule!

                Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com

             10. No

                 Justin, You f***ing rule!

11. BCTI

    I have just emailed the attorney for WA to become a part of the class action suit. I attended BCTI 1st in 97-98 and then graduated from AIS in 7/00 as part of the 2nd class to go through the program. As many of you know the original instructor was not qualified and was only there because she was involved with the assistant director. As it is for so many, the training failed to lead to any employment related to the training. From the AIS phase I never received any job placement and they only wanted to look in Pierce County and not Kitsap. Overall, the whole experience was the worst in my life. They should compensate every last student for tuition, loss of income, and anguish.

    1. How do I contact attny for WA to join lawsuit?

       Simply put I went to BCTI and they screwed me because they would not allow me to return to complete the course after a Major Family matter took me out of school for 5 weeks..

       In addition to all the same false promises that were made to others well into the late 90’s, I was enrolled at BCTI. At about the 3month till graduation mark, It was necessary for me to seek out a new job causing me to have to request to postpone and return to complete my course at a later date. I was told I could come back to finish after I resolved my employment issues. After about 5 weeks I did return to the school to continue the last 3 months of the class. But when I returned they said I would have to start the finance process over, and would not allow me to complete the course unless I did pay them more. I didn’t have the money. Therefore I was stuck without a certificate of completion, the references to use for a job, and still had to pay back what I a borrowed. Funny how they kept all the money for the course, but would not let me finish the course.

       They owe me; this was my chance to make something of myself. To provide a better life for my family. Instead, I had to continue working a minimum wage job, depending on the state to help makeup for the lack of wages. In fact I feel that the position this put me in ultimately lead to my divorce.

       Fortunately I am a resourceful man. I did teach myself computers and became a very successful computer tech working for a for a fortune 500 company on a fortune 500 company’s account. But I am still paying that loan back with all the late charges and so on. And it took me an extra 5 years to get to the point I am now.

       I want BCTI to compensate me for all of this. Especially the funds they did not give back, since they refused to allow me to retune as promised.

       If anyone has the info to contact the attny to join this lawsuit, please email it to me. Paul Patterson mrnmrsp123 @ hotmail . com

       253-210-3432

       1. attny’s address

          if you have the attny’s address please forward

12. crown law suit

    The latest news is that Crown College has recently lost a law suit (not the class action one)concerning transferability of credits and must pay a total of 4x damages; damages claimed plus 3x the original damages as punitive damages. This is certainly good news for BCTI students.

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