Virginia College

Virginia College was a private for-profit college located primarily in the southeastern United States. It offered classes, certificates, diplomas, and degrees related to specific professions such as health sciences, information technology, business, office management, and criminal justice. It also offered online degree programs.[1]

Virginia College
TypePrivate for-profit college
Active1983 (1983)–2018 (2018)
OwnerEducational Corporation of America
Students11,000
Location
Birmingham (Main Campus)
,
Alabama
,
United States

After Virginia College failed to be accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training,[2] and an appeal being rejected, approximately one-third of its campuses were expected to close by 2020, the company announced in September 2018.[3] However, by early December of 2018 all of its campuses were closing, the company "citing financial challenges and accreditation issues as the reasons".[4]

History

The original Virginia College campus was founded in 1983 in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1989, it was acquired by Education Futures, Inc.[5] In February 1992, it opened its first branch campus in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Homewood. Another branch campus was opened in April 1993 in Huntsville, Alabama.

Ownership

The company that owns and operates the schools, Education Corporation of America, was a privately held corporation headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. ECA also owned Virginia College Online, which offered distance education academic programs via the Internet; Golf Academy of America; Culinard, the Culinary Institute of Virginia College, offering degrees in the culinary arts; and Ecotech Institute, offering degrees in fields of renewable energy, sustainable design, and energy efficiency.[6]

Locations

Brick and mortar campus locations:

Campuses scheduled to close by 2020[7]

Curriculum

Virginia College offered courses in health care, cosmetology, criminal justice, paralegal, and network engineering (Network engineering courses are not ABET-accredited), as well as several trades (professional training) programs such as truck driving.[8] Online classes and degrees were also offered.

Accreditation

Virginia College was accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). When the U.S. Department of Education withdrew recognition from ACICS as a federally-recognized accreditor in September 2016,[9] Virginia College sought accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET). In March 2018, Virginia College's proposal for accreditation to ACCET was rejected, as was its subsequent appeal.[2]

Criticism

In 2012, Virginia College was sued by the Mississippi Center for Justice on behalf of seven students. The lawsuit claims that Virginia College misled students about the value of their degrees, and that it specifically targeted misleading advertising to women and minority students.[10] The case was remanded to arbitration.

In 2022, Virginia College was one of 153 institutions included in student loan cancellation due to alleged fraud. The class action was brought by a group of more than 200,000 student borrowers, assisted by the Project on Predatory Student Lending, part of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. A settlement was approved in August 2022, stating that the schools on the list were included "substantial misconduct by the listed schools, whether credibly alleged or in some instances proven."[11][12] In April 2023, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the settlement and allowed to proceed the debt cancellation due to alleged fraud.[13]

See also

References
  1. College website
  2. Kreighbaum, Andrew (May 22, 2018). "Another Setback for Programs Overseen by Troubled Accreditor". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  3. Kreighbaum, Andrew (September 12, 2018). "For-Profit Chain Will Close Dozens of Campuses". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  4. "Virginia College closing in Montgomery, nationwide". WFSA. December 5, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  5. Halperin, David (2021-10-14). "Shuttered For-Profit College Was Run By Industry Perennial". Republic Report. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  6. "Education Corporation of America". www.ecacolleges.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  7. "For-profit chain will close dozens of campuses". www.insidehighered.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  8. "Virginia College | Post-Secondary Career Education Programs". www.trade-schools.net. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  9. "Education Department Establishes Enhanced Federal Aid Participation Requirements for ACICS-accredited Colleges | U.S. Department of Education". United States Department of Education. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  10. "For-Profit College Is Accused of Bias Against Female and Minority Students". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  11. "Government's Consolidated Opposition to Motions to Intervene" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  12. Turner, Cory; Carrillo, Sequoia; Salhotra, Pooja (2022-08-05). "200k student borrowers are closer to getting their loans erased after judge's ruling". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  13. Hurley, Lawrence (2023-04-13). "Supreme Court allows $6 billion student loan debt settlement". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
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