My husband and I want to join this lawsuit. Independence University's situation highlights how a troubled institution can stay in business, with students unaware,and then leave them in the lurch when it finally closes. Now Im paying for that because they wont transfer my credits over and/or present me with an associates degree having enough credits done for it. The Betsy DeVos Department still has not explained the basis of CollegeAmericas lawsuit dismissal, and whether there was a deal with DeVoss team that will now give CEHE non-profit status, which would allow it to avoid some critical federal rules. We were told the school understood that the majority of students who fill out the evaluations are the ones who are upset with the course, thus low ratings. However, many legal issues arise when a university closes. When I started inquiring in my state. Updated: 5:23 AM CDT October 14, 2021. Last year when they called me and I was unemployed because Im not exactly hireable, their loan collection department was extremely rude and told me that they are not obligated to help me find a job through career services and that pretty much it didnt exist. Class Action: An Overview. I have 63k in debt just from the federal student loans. Two Stanford Students, Erica Olsen and Kalea Woods, have filled a class-action lawsuit against eight colleges involved in the $25 million college bribery case filed by the Justice Department. The only thing you should do is contact Navient to update your mailing address to make sure it has up-to-date contact information for you. INVESTIGATING HOW MONEY CORRUPTS DEMOCRACY. If you are a current or past student of Independence University, you may now be eligible to receive Independence University loan forgiveness. Do you even qualify for any debt relief? Independence University isdirecting students to the Miami International University of Art & Designor South University in Georgia. Independence University and their parent company Center for Excellence in Higher Education received backlash over the last few days regarding decisions made by the school. June 23, 2022. Any help would be appreciated. I would call and e mail daily with no return. Omg Im currently attending this University and Im supposed to graduate in June of this year.. After . Mandatory arbitration agreements are a common way for companies that want to avoid either class action lawsuits and/or liability for their illegal actions to circumvent the normal legal protections provided to students. Now the government is trying to collect when I never finished the schooling because I felt like something was wrong. Youve already joined the Navient lawsuit the company recently settled with the 39 state attorneys general if your mailing address on file with Navient as of June 30, 2021, was in a location that participated in the deal. The settlement only covers loans made during a specific period (2002-2010). Late last week, the Colorado Board of Private Occupational Schools the body overseeing state regulation of for-profit colleges released the minutes of its February 26 meeting. Tutors will refuse to help you and then say that you have notes. They gave me no information as far as financial aid etc, asked about my pell grant and they couldnt give me any information. Mary: I am the lawyer representing the whistleblowers in this lawsuit. On April 19, 2022, the Court granted preliminary approval and notice of the terms Raisner Roupinian LLP filed suit against ClearEdge Power Inc., and ClearEdge Power LLC (ClearEdge) on April 28, 2014, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California seeking to recover 60 days Raisner Roupinian LLP filed a class action suit against Colortree Group, Inc. (Colortree) on June 6, 2019, seeking to recover 60 days wages and benefits under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and We filed suit against Corinthian Colleges, Inc (Corinthian) on May 5, 2015, seeking to recover 60 days wages and benefits for former employees under the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. We filed suit against Crowne Architectural Systems, Inc., Inc. (Crowne) on April 14, 2017, seeking to recover 60 days wages and benefits for former employees under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act UPDATE 10/14/2022 The Court, on August 3, 2021, granted our motion to certify the WARN case as a class action and appointed the Plaintiff as class representative and our firm as Class Counsel. Has anyone found any information regarding a lawsuit? Federal law prohibits any such commission payments, in order to combat student loan default rates, the enrollment of unqualified students, and the waste of student loans and grant funds: The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Stevens-Henager College, Inc. and its owner, The Center for Excellence in Higher Education, for illegally compensating recruiters, the Department of Justice announced today. You can see a full list of schools at NavientAGSettlement.com. Less than a week ago CEHCs interim CEO Paul Gardner informed students that the school would be closing effective August 1, 2021. Independence University has had to make the very difficult decision to close its doors. Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings . I attended there for 22 months and after a long nightmare story I finally got into the nursing program with was an additional 18 months. I am in yo bring this school down and other schools who wrongfully took advantage of me and my credit. I taught for this school until I was fired in the early part of 2014. And now I dont understand why I have to pay a monthly fee of 100.00 when my loan isnt even due till I graduate. Instead I get an email stating that I am to accept this students late work. Camp Lejeune residents now have the opportunity to claim compensation for harm suffered from contaminated water. High inflation has intensified a debate among his advisers about the wisdom of such a move. The Education Department granted relief to applicants from the schools included in the deal based on strong indicia regarding substantial misconduct by listed schools, whether credibly alleged or in some instances proven, according to the settlement papers filed with U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Court: Eleventh Circuit Florida US District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Now Im pregnant jobless and in debt Thanks Steven heneger or Independence whatever your name is today. I worked for Stevens Henegar college online in Phoenix AZ during late 2011 -2012 and the things they did enrolling students in the online program where horrible. In a move that is not entirely surprising to some, the United States federal government has sued a for-profit career institute from Utah, Stevens-Henager College, after two whistleblowers first came forward to reveal fraudulent recruiting practices that involved paying illegal commissions to student recruiters. Before commenting, please review our comment policy. I want my money back. I was only there 2 days. The Biden Administration has forgiven the . The school became a non-profit school in 2012, and offered associates, bachelors, and masters degrees in technology, business, graphic arts, and healthcare. If anyone knows of a class action lawsuit that I can be a part of, please contact me. Related: How to Get Sallie Mae Loans Forgiven. This never happened by the time I graduated in June 2008. The deal, which requires approval by a federal judge, was greeted with cheers and relief by borrowers. As I became more aware of my situation, I chose to leave and transfer to a more reputable school. After the board met behind closed doors with lawyers, one board member, Christoper Reister, made a motion to issue a Notice of Noncompliance to CollegeAmerica based upon a reasonable belief that Colorado law may have been violated. The board then amended its motion to provide that College America may be placed on probation with the Division if the issue is not resolved. At this meeting and subsequent ones, representatives of CollegeAmerica addressed the board. Any additional information that could be provided to me about this would be greatly appreciated. Wow.. I was a drug addict and these people should not have even talked to me. They need their pants sued off until they have to close their doors. Now, while CEHE appeals that decision and seeks to fend off an effort to cut off federal aid for its colleges, it . I need help getting to the bottom of this. (May 18, 2020) -- Grand Canyon University is sharing this statement with its stakeholders to provide an update on a class-action lawsuit that was filed in July of 2019 - which the University addressed publicly at that time in this statement. They blew me off and continued to get money. But, federal officials said,"students are being pressured to agree to transfer," and the"unusual arrangement" warranted a closer look. I would like the information as well! Only to be told that there wasnt enough funds to get anything until my 2nd year. The University of Oregon issued a statement saying "the lawsuit is wrong on the law and on the facts." The school said the lawsuit's claims that the school's costs have decreased are false. What the heck?!?! Feds investigating:USA TODAY report flagged massage school accused of ties to prostitution. As part of the settlement, Navient agreed to pay millions of dollars in restitution payments to borrowers it steered into long-term forbearances that added thousands of dollars of interest to their loan balances rather than putting them into income-based repayment options or advising them of the need to consolidate to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This online division of the Steven-Henager school had a 45% graduation rate and the majority of the school fell into the low-income threshold. Yet they use these ratings against their instructors. They figured out how to manipulate the forms sent out to students so they could sign the students name to them. I am right where I feared I would be. When the University of Oregon and Oregon State University closed their campuses because of the coronavirus pandemic, they . After being sued by the state of Colorado, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges stripped the university of its accreditation. Under the settlement agreement, Emory University has agreed to pay $16,750,000 to resolve the class action lawsuit. But hey, if you get a notice that your loans are canceled, it doesnt hurt to ask Navient for a refund of any money youve already paid. In all honesty, I learned more from searching google or youtube for tutorials than I did from any instructor. The Supreme Court, in a decision by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, tightened the five-year-old Spokeo test for class action plaintiffs seeking monetary damages for alleged violations of federal consumer . Instead, students are relying on their peers, emails from the college administration, and the U.S. Department of Education to guide them. It was only after Potts filed an age discrimination complaint with the EEOC a complaint that led to the EEOC lawsuit that CollegeAmerica sued Potts for the $7000 back. student loan, that I was duped into enrolling into. Class-action lawsuits have been filed against nearly 100 higher education institutions, according to the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, which advises colleges and universities. You entered repayment before January 2015. In 2013, CEHE operated 16 colleges that were accredited by ACCSC. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); These days, college is expensive and not the best choice for everyone. Independence University StevensHenager Court Reporting Institute La' James College of Hairstyling La' James International College . A class action lawsuit claimed Wichita State University was responsible for the 2019 data breach and formally accused the school of negligence, breach of implied . For example, if your address with Navient was in Missouri, the statute of limitations is 10 years for breach of contract cases involving student loan debt. The director required everyone of the admission consulants[ my title] to enroll a minmimum of 3 students per month or you would get fired. I am sorry to hear everyone elses stories as well. I sent to DOE, Office of Investigative Services, but ?? I was told it would be a 20 month program in which I would learn the skills necessary to obtain a graphic design job. This student did not do his work and went to the dean, Marilee Hall, to ask for permission to make up late work because he was busy with his job. This is probably the sexiest thing Ive seen in a long time! one posted in a Facebook group. Meanwhile, CEHE continues to face trouble with various oversight bodies and court proceedings. Papers were signed in my name but not in my handwriting. It was then that i realized also that my credits were not transferable. More on that below. CollegeAmerica is pursuing a lawsuit, set for trial in May in a Colorado state court, against Debbi Potts, a former campus director of the schools Cheyenne, Wyoming. Please update me on you efforts to get out of this situation. You can see the full Navient settlement agreement and list of schools atnavientagsettlement.com. Our content is intended to be used for general information purposes only. Most of the times, the phone #s were not accurate in their system. Purdue Global suffered losses in 2018 and 2019. In the last 3 years at least 8 people have been fired for fraud 4 in financial aid in Phoenix that packaged students who had cancelled their enrollment to keep their jobs. The government would pay $450,000 in legal fees and . Something similar happened to me at this school recently & I am now over 10k in debt & I was not even enrolled for a year and only received a used laptop & a broken tablet. I am working on this at the moment, today (9-10-2021). The complaint alleges that the decision to instate remote learning has resulted in the university's failure to provide, "contracted for services, facilities, access and/or opportunities.". By the time i realized that i was not getting any help with financial aid, grants or scholarships, it was too late. Stevens-Henager currently maintains several campuses in Utah and Idaho. Colleges and Universities: Independence University. I had to travel 1300 miles away for my NICU rotation in which I had to find my own clinical sites and pay for all expenses including airfare, rental car, ect. I cant support a family of five on $942.50 a month. Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox sign up for ClassAction.orgs newsletterhere. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. The other Navient lawsuit, filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) n 2017, is still pending. It was obvious this student lied, yet his evaluation was used to calculate my ratings. Few borrowers qualified to have their loans canceled as part of the Navient settlement. The agreement is a major step toward resolving a problem that had stretched across three presidential administrations: a glut of relief claims from students who attended for-profit schools that saddled them with large bills for a subpar education. The school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and operated under the parent institution Center for Excellence in Higher Education. They are trying to charge me $43,000 for only 4 months of courses that they kept placing me in the wrong ones, sending me broken equipment and refusing to give me information as well as my financial aide. Alexis Sippel, 25, said she had been laid off from Verizon Wireless in the middle of the pandemicand was trying to figure out what she should do next when she saw atelevision ad for Independence University. Saddled with debt from a program that promised students lucrative careers but offered them little actual training or support, she struggled after graduation to earn a living wage. Yessenia Delgado, 27, said she had been studying graphic art at the university, and shell pursue a similar program at the Miami International University of Art & Design in graphic and web design. 3 Best Credit Repair Companies You Can Trust in 2022, notifying them of the closing of the school. If the loan is past the statute of limitations for the state Navient shows as your last known address, then it wont be eligible for cancelation. But heres the rub: very few of those in debt to Navient ended up qualifying for relief. Average of 13 Customer Reviews. The school had a late policy in their syllabus, but I was told by Marilee Hall that it was optional. No where in the syllabus did it say optional. I asked about auditing a class, it took him 6 months to get back to me, and for him that was normal. I enrolled in SHC to become a nurse. Students walk past a statue of school mascot Cocky at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Class action lawsuits are found in every state, but states like California, New York, Florida, New Jersey and Texas tend to have the highest number of class action complaints filed in America. The Department of Law filed a lawsuit against CEHE in 2014 and the court found that CEHE violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, including by making many deceptive statements to prospective students. I would like to join, I have 2 young children and am trying to get my life together, but made the wrong choice with this institution. Learn More:How to Get Out of Student Loan Debt Legally. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. Please update me on you efforts to get out of this situation. Honestly, one professor cannot properly teach all aspects of graphic design (which involves using several different software programs), especially to students that were at different points in the program. You do not qualify for the Navient student loan settlement if your mailing address on file with Navient as of June 30, 2021, was in one of these states: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah. I learn bare min. Type: Torts - Injury Personal Inj. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment based on your own personal circumstances and consult with your own investment, financial, tax and legal advisers. I dont feel like I received anything for what I paid for. ClassAction.org is a group of online professionals (designers, developers and writers) with years of experience in the legal industry. I owe over 20,000 in loans! Theresa Sweet, one of the named plaintiffs in the class action. 1 NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled v. City of New York Docket No. When brought to their attention, they did not fix it, instead had me meet between classes with a teachers aide to learn. Concealed, cynical, and inept efforts by DeVoss lieutenants to make deals with owners of troubled college chains have led to debacles like the Dream Center collapse. Shehas instead opted to continue her medical assistance studies onlineat Keiser University. New Federal Repayment Terms for Student Debt: What You Should Know, Student Loan ForgivenessUpdate: Revisions, Delays, and Legal Challenges, 4 Ways To Minimize Your Student Loan Debt While Youre In School. al. Yes I dont have anyone to blame but myself, however, lying about their career services helping you, or the fact that it doesnt really exist is just awful. Not okay. How to Apply for Student Loan Forgiveness, How to Apply For Student Loan Forgiveness (2023), Navient Loans Transferred to Aidvantage: What the Move Means, How to Consolidate Student Loans With Navient, Settling Navient Student Loan Debt: Expert Tips, Private Student Loan Debt Settlement: How It Works. Im going through a divorce and my income does not even cover my living expenses. Same here! But its the universitys efforts to push students to new colleges that has the federal government asking questions. Instead opted to continue her medical assistance studies onlineat Keiser University the government is trying collect. Until my 2nd year help you and then say that you have notes you! June 2008 schools at NavientAGSettlement.com information that could be provided to me, and objective content to help you decisions! Intended to be told that there wasnt enough funds to get out of this.. Of the coronavirus pandemic, they did not fix it, instead had me between. 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