Here is the link to a recent NPR story regarding culinary schools and the disconnect between culinary careers and the costs of culinary school. Interesting quote from the of Career Education Corp. executive Kirk Bachmann about the calculations of placement rates. He notes that CEC schools do not include… Continue Reading →
Scharfstein v. BP West Coast Products, LLC, No 1112-17046 (Multnomah Cnty. Cir. Ct.) Across Oregon, ARCO gas stations and am-pm minimarkets charged consumers an illegal debit card charge 13,000 times a day. Over 2 million consumers were overcharged. David led a team of talented lawyers in what is widely recognized… Read More
For those interested, Career Education Corp and Western Culinary Institute/Le Cordon Bleu Portland filed their appeal brief in our long-running consumer fraud class action, Surrett v. Western Culinary Institute. The brief is long and technical. It focuses on things like arbitration clauses and class action procedure. If you’re really interested,… Continue Reading →
When the Obama administration announced stricter regulations on for-profit trade schools, the lucrative industry went on the offensive, hiring the best lobbyists money could buy. “Best,” of course, means most effective and should not be confused with doing what is right. The heavy investment paid off, as this report… Continue Reading →
Last week, Career Education Corporation’s stock took a breathtaking fall. It started with the resignation of Gary McCullough, the CEO. That happened so quickly, he did not even have time to offer the usual walk-the-plank rap that he was leaving to spend more time with his family. The next… Continue Reading →
One of the best articles I’ve seen recently on for-profit colleges. Please, please, please read this if you or anyone in your family is thinking about a for-profit school. From the trenches, we continue to pursue our class action against Le Cordon Bleu Portland (formerly known as… Continue Reading →
The New York Times reports here on the Kaplan schools woes. The Times goes to great lengths to note that its competitor, The Washington Post, owns Kaplan. I suppose some might see it as a dig and turn of the knife, but it strikes me as appropriate because it… Continue Reading →
The Government Accounting Office released its report today, GAO Report For Profit Colleges (pdf), highlighting a number of abuses by for-profit trade schools. The GAO engaged in undercover testing to ferret out the fraud and abuse in for-profit admissions and lending. Pretty scary stuff. The GAO Report notes that… Continue Reading →