Virginia College
Type | Birmingham (Main Campus) , , United States |
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Virginia College was a
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] In December 2018 Virginia College announced all campuses would close citing financial challenges and accreditation issues.[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,
Locations
Brick and mortar campus locations:
- Augusta, Georgia
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Bossier City, Louisiana
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Florence, South Carolina
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Lubbock, Texas
- Richmond, Virginia
- Savannah, Georgia
- Greensboro, North Carolina
Campuses scheduled to close by 2020:[7]
- Austin, Texas
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Columbia, South Carolina
- Spartanburg, South Carolina
- Columbus, Georgia
- Macon, Georgia
- Fort Pierce, Florida
- Pensacola, Florida
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Mobile, Alabama
- Phoenix, Arizona
Curriculum
Virginia College offered courses in
Accreditation
Virginia College was accredited by the
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
- Vocational school
- Online degrees
References
- ^ College[permanent dead link] website
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Virginia College closing in Montgomery, nationwide". WFSA. December 5, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ Halperin, David (2021-10-14). "Shuttered For-Profit College Was Run By Industry Perennial". Republic Report. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- ^ "Education Corporation of America". www.ecacolleges.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
- ^ "For-profit chain will close dozens of campuses". www.insidehighered.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
- ^ "Virginia College | Post-Secondary Career Education Programs". www.trade-schools.net. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Government's Consolidated Opposition to Motions to Intervene" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hurley, Lawrence (2023-04-13). "Supreme Court allows $6 billion student loan debt settlement". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-04-15.