If you can find a good student loan lawyer, come back and give me their contact information. Just make sure that you do a really good job of explaining exactly what you were told, who said it, how it impacted your decision to take out the loans, etc., and you should be on the path to a discharge. The lawsuit claims that the Illinois Institute of Art failed to properly protect its students rights and deceived them. Cozette, Your email address will not be published. The plaintiffs allege that the Art Institute misrepresented its curriculum, available classes, and transferability of credit. Are you going after that, or are you pursuing a Borrowers Defense to Repayment Discharge? I hope you managed to turn a profit off your lawsuit! After living there for a month and realizing that the loan would only cover for about 3 more months of housing I decided to leave and got a studio off campus in the Bronx with the rest of the loan which covered about 9 months of rent (I ended up getting a part time job). I ended up with 36k in Fed loans that they handled for me, and told me I was differed for 18 months. If you were influenced by the Art Institutes closure, you could apply to the Closed School Discharge program. They were making me apply for tons of different grants but my loan amount kept increasing to about 36k when I tried to reach out to my student adviser he/she (I got passed around a lot) would never return my call until I decided to withdraw from the school because of lack of communication from them and because of the huge concern of my ever increasing student loans. Did you have a specific question? Again, I think the odds are like 95% that you will not get a refund, but Id try it anyway. Consider your application as an attempt to build a case against the school, and if youve watched enough court TV, then you know that every case needs evidence to win! Read through all the information here about both programs and make the decision for yourself. Documents proving you attended the school, including something that shows which program you studied and when you were there: Transcripts, Enrollment Agreements or Registration . As I stated above, there are two ways that former students of the Art Institute can apply for student loan forgiveness: 1. Give as much detail as possible, but like you said, nothing that can lead to a quick dismissal because some minor thing was incorrect. Your email address will not be published. The Closed School Discharge Program is available to a large number of students online. However, there are other two conditions to be aware of it youre thinking of applying for this program. Lets take a look at what exactly EDMC was doing that led to the lawsuit. The Art Institutes may have benefited from the bankruptcy filing of many former students. which feature characterizes the great mosque of cordoba. If I were you, I think Id push for a Closed School Student Loan Discharge and see if it works out. Turmoil at the Art Institutes continued while students were misled about the accreditation status of their school. As a result of the Borrower Defense To Repayment Program, the US educational system may be forced to consider outsourcing it. Zach! The IRS considers any discharged student loan debt as taxable income. Yeah, youll find it here: https://archive.org/web/. Read my full post and look for anything else they might have done, as you should be able to pursue a BDAR Discharge here based on that one promise alone, but the most examples of fraud or illegal activity you can cite, the better your chances will be! Therefore, lets dive into the details of how Ashford University student loan forgiveness program could determine your further developments in career path. they had be buy all the supplies and books from their own store, and I started 2 weeks later. They kept doing shady little tricks like telling me to drop classes it would be cheaper but it pushed my Graduation date further and further out. -Lost in atlanta. During the time period in which students were not eligible for loans, the schools made them available. My son is now in the military but the loans in my name. Good question! As of today, the Educational Management Corporation has failed to admit any wrongdoing even after the Art Institutes lawsuit wen against it. I loved the look of that horse, but I sure do not miss her bad behavior! EDMC has agreed to pay 200 million dollars in order to resolve the case without admitting any wrongdoing. Sep 02, 2011. Were going to go ahead and apply for the DOE borrowers defense. They kept telling him to look on craigslist. I can go on but I think you can understand my frustration from just this short amount of information. Before attending I was allowed to enter an Art Innovation poster competition- which I won first place and was granted $3000 towards my tuition. I dont even remember the recruiters name, it was back in 2012 when I attended. Yeah, you dont sign up for it. The US Department of Education revoked the Art Institutes accreditation in September 2016. Please help? Step 1Download the application from the link.Step 2Complete it by providing the right information for all the different fields. The job market is hard and so is the economy and the housing in California. If possible please let me know where I can find the actual court documents against The Art Institute . In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Education Management Corporation (EDMC), who operate the chain of Art Institutes, for $11 BILLION! We were a week to week family I got upset when I was denied and she began increasing us to try for the parent plus loan thAt it was the right and best decision to make and if approved if start my future beginning of the next quarter. Maybe via Borrowers Defense to Repayment, and maybe via the Closed School Discharge Program. Did you experience any of their marketing or advertising campaigns which made false promises, talked about graduation rates, job-placement rates, or accreditation for licensure that wasnt actually true? This has caused me so much emotional stress. Theres tons of help by fellow victims. Think about when it was said, where you were when you heard it, who told it to you, what their official job title was, etc., and provide a direct quote, not a paraphrased version of what you were told. Their response was that you were required to pass all classes in order to graduate. And can you explain how it impacted your decision to borrow money to attend the school? I have their letter. It used false and misleading claims to lure students to pay for a college degree. The Nelnet loan is in my name and the Parent Plus in my moms. Therefore remember to contact them for more information and clarification on the matter. EDMC is the largest provider of post-secondary education in the US. Did they say hed make a certain amount of money? It will also help EDMC to pay for the costs incurred by its former employees. I first applied online- met with a representative named Rachel who, similar to other stories, also promised immediate job placement upon graduating. Step 3Submit the filled form to your loan servicer. Thank you for the hard work and for giving us a chance to claim back our lives that were deliberately and brutally stolen. Thank you who ever created this article. There are a lot of scammers out there who will make all sorts of wild promises to you. 2019 closing. After my second semester, I suspected it was a big lie with the quality of education I was getting. It was from 2010-2014. Everything they told me (guaranteed job placement, starting salary, etc) were all done verbally in person. Its very frustrating. To successfully file a claim for theBorrowers Defense Claim, you need to point out the facts that the school violated the law in its dealing with you, and you enrolled in the institute as a result of illegal marketing tactics employed by the school. You can apply to have your student loan discharged via the Closed School Loan Discharge Program by going to this website. It could be entirely her fault. For instance, consolidation or refinancing programs offer interest reduction advantage, while repayment plans can streamline the debt repayment process. Now, a group of students is fighting back. And then if that doesnt work, Id try to use Borrowers Defense to Repayment to see if that one may get you a refund. The education was minimal to basics of how programs worked. Then my daughter decided to live in the dorms, which where really just co-ed apartments. I was never told about how students loans worked federal or private. As explained earlier, students get loans that they took during your study at The Art Institute written off if you meet two essential criteria. of Las Vegas I qualify they shut doors right after class ended. Not only was I lied to about how easy I would find a job, I was being pulled out of class and told that I could not return until I signed off on more student loans. The legal. We did most of our own teaching in that we often just read through the textbooks and learned on our own, so pretty much all I paid (waaay too much for) was a largely useless piece of paper. Required fields are marked *. I was 4 classes away from graduating!! The EDMC, which owns the Art Institute, is also a defendant. Only after including all the necessary information, should you submit your application. It is important to note that the class-action lawsuit is a court case and not a class action. The saddest thing about this was being offered leads via sales jobs after graduation. Red flag #1 was when I was signing up for financial aid, the financial counselor was pushing for my mom to sign a parent plus loan. But I want to see what you think. A federal judge in Chicago on Monday rejected a motion by the Dream Center Foundation to be dismissed from a lawsuit brought by former students who claim they were deceived by the Illinois Institute of Art. The majority of the 18 schools that have announced they will no longer accept new students cited a drop in enrollment. This is exactly what schools (including AI) keep getting blasted about, so I think you have a good chance of applying for a Borrowers Defense to Repayment Discharge and getting your application approved in this case. Ive attended both the costa mesa and Seattle campus of the AI network and am currently working on a BDR claim myself. However, the institute has denied wrongdoing and will likely settle with its students. Some federal programs provide forgiveness for student debt, but it is critical to avoid shady websites. Make sure that you do it at the US governments official website set up for this purpose, or you may be falling for one of the popular Student Loan Forgiveness Scams floating around. I am no longer employed and she does not make enough to make payments. Quit school. Any time that there is more news, I will update this information accordingly. All of these companies are accused of breaching their agreements. Do we have any recourse here for the loans issued back in 2011&2012? According to student loan . Hello, I attended the Art Institute of OC back in 2000-2003. They lied all the way to the end and its against the Educational Law. . It is imperative to join the art institute class action lawsuit if you want to recover damages. It looks like nobody replies to these comments. Good luck! THANK YOU SO MUCH, HOLY COW! I have also attached my enrollment to San Bernardino Valley College with records. Ive been paying my debt off, but the amount is well beyond the true cost of the degree. Will I be able to even though I graduated in September? I have so many horror stories from this place and the fact that ther interest rate ended up being so much higher than I understood had made sure that Ill never EVER pay them off. I originally signed up to attend the art institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2008. We are facing the very real possibility of losing our house because of this. It is important to note that a class action lawsuit has a long-term effect. Will I get a email? Programs have now opened allowing students to find relief from their student loans obtained at these dishonest for-profit institutions. I called AI and was told I had a $3000 balance on my account and thats why it was being withheld. They collected on the first program and then instead of charging me only for 5 classes they charged me for the whole new program. Thats when I left. The company was also accused of false advertising and success rate inflation. I attended the Art Institute if Cali-LA, the campus is now closed. Operator of Argosy University & Illinois Institute of Art to Provide Multimillion Dollar Student Loan Debt Relief Over Recruiting & Enrollment Practices . So during my last quarter i was forced to take out a $20,000 private loan my last, so i could graduate. Do you think I would qualify for Loan Forgiveness? My only concern is the application only discusses federal loans. Sounds like a scam to me. Doesnt seem fair that recent graduates, borrowing tens of thousands of dollars, being able to walk away free and myself and others suffer. they told me it would all be grants. Because there is only one program that does not require you to claim benefits on your taxable income, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program is one of the few programs that does not require you to do so. TheBorrowers Defense against RepaymentProgram. We cant thank you enough for this information. HOWEVER, you may still be eligible for a Borrowers Defense to Repayment Discharge, so I would look into the details of that program and see what you can come up with there. Students financial situations were greatly impacted by the recent incident of Educational Management Corporation. Hello, I need information I was student till the end. I also wanted to add that I did file for bankruptcy almost 10 years ago and that did not apply to those loans as the lawyer said they were not eligible through Sallie Mae. I transferred to Ai in January of 2018 when the school was purchased by DCEH with the knowledge that I would receive my bachelors now if they made that promise enrolled me knowing that they were going to shut down and cause me and my family hardships due to the closer. Borrower Defense to Repayment Programs are available if you are in the Closed School Discharging Program. History Origins and growth (1921-2010) The Art Institutes system was created in 1969 when Education Management Corporation (EDMC) acquired The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, which was founded in 1921. Therefore, if you were a student at the Art Institute on the date it closed, or you left no more than 120 days prior to that date, you would automatically qualify to have your student loan discharged via the Closed School Loan Discharge Program. The Art Institute of California - San Diego, a campus of Argosy University - Academic Catalog; The Art Institute of California - San Francisco, a campus of Argosy University; The Art Institute of CaliforniaSilicon Valley, a campus of Argosy University; The Art Institute of Charleston, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta Here are straight guideline from the Borrower Defense program application: If you are not currently in default on your federal student loans, you may request to have them placed into forbearance status while your application is under review. The suit claimed that the Art Institute misrepresented the benefits of its educational programs and overstated their graduation and job placement rates. They stated I could accept the $2,000 credit for me to go to another college or half off tuition if I went to another one of their colleges and they said at the end i signed a paper stating I wont get the credit and it will pay off what I have to the school, was given a for cast of what my terms would look like as Wella ND was told that being in the school for 2 years I would not owe the school anything but they closed down, which was not brought to my attention they were closing in 2 semesters. Its so frustrating Thank you. A third individual from EDMC is also named in the lawsuit. Look at the versions of their site from around when you were first considering applying there. If you do choose to apply for a Borrowers Defense Against Repayment Discharge, theres a very good chance that you will be able to get your student loans forgiven entirely. Follow the explanations in my Guide on which details to include in your application and you will have the best chance on getting your discharge approved. The art institutes parent company is EDMC, which is the largest provider of postsecondary education in the US. I read the guidelines for the Closed School discharge, and think I actually can apply for it. Where you were when you heard it? That sounds super handy! They also agreed to fork over $95.5 million as a result of a whistleblowers claim that they were engaging in a student recruitment strategy that violated US federal law, which is good news for former students, as this opens them up to Borrowers Defense Against Repayment claims. I suddenly feel I have a slim (albeit to nine) chance of getting help. Students can, at times feel overwhelmed with an avalanche of information. Thank you so much Will! To get help with Federal loans, check out my pages on Federal Student Loan Relief, Federal Loan Forgiveness, Federal Student Loan Bankruptcy Discharges, Federal Loan Consolidation Programs and Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans. While some got debt relief through a recent lawsuit settlement . Definitely try for the Closed School Discharge first, then only use BDAR if that fails. I attended The Art Institute in Los Angeles, graduated 2009. If I had accurate information about their fees and how these loans really worked I would have never agreed to borrow any money to pay for their education program. As a result, the settlement is expected to cost the Art-Impact Corporation $95.5 million in damages and forgive $13 million in student loan debt. Can i get my money back? Take a look at my section on Private Student Loan Debt Relief, and Private Student Loan Forgiveness Programs for details on whats available there. Is it enough to mainly have attached websites of their fraudulence? While I have those, my main concern is my private loans held with two different providers. I had to explain to multiple representatives that I had absolutely no balance left if I did have one I would not have been able to graduate that the $3000 balance was part of the poster competition that I won and was granted before attending. roller skating staffordshire. Starting in 2000, The Art Institutes began offering bachelor's degrees and, in 2001, launched its distance education program, Art Institute Online, which began offering bachelor's and non-degree . In my second year I got worried about the amount of loans. However, the Trump administration overturned those regulations, leaving students vulnerable to predatory for-profit schools. I only signed up for a Diploma but i will still have the 11,ooo loan to pay off. So then I enrolled in San Bernardino Valley college to acquire marketing skills in which The Art Institute failed to teach/provide as part of their program which they cancelled midway for lack of teachers. I am know to about $30,000 in federal debt and just found out that the school closed, actually today 3/9/19. They didnt promise you that a percentage of their graduates finish, they didnt promise you a set salary, they didnt even promise that your credits would be eligible for transferring. I attended the AI of Atlanta from 1993 to 1995. my enrollment process took about 1 week and at the time I was unemployed and had Zero income. Yes I want to join this lawsuit and would like to know how because I never was so deceived so badly that my loans are still not paid off after about the last 10 years and being lied to as well. Then, when i asked to be put on a payment plan they said Id have to start over because the curriculum had changed. It's a troubling sign for the for-profit college industry. You also need to provide evidence that the school committed fraud. Going to the school is the biggest regret in my life. Only then was my balance dropped and a week later I received my degree in the mail. The Art Institute of California Inland Empire 630 East Brier Drive San Bernardino Ca 92408 (909) 915-2100 http://www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire/ (school closed, phone disconnected, website not active) 1. Therefore, apply for the benefit now so that even if the Borrowers Defense program is cancelled youll still have a chance of receiving loan forgiveness. Was promised 100% job placement prior to going to the school only to find out that their 100% job placement may be at Burger King or where or whoever was hiring. Losing their accreditation may not matter though if you have already graduated? Do you think is a chance for me to get my money back? The plaintiffs believe that the company did not comply with its obligations and that they were created. Is it possible for me to take advantage the settlement? Read through my Guide and look at the comments Ive responded to others asking the same question. The jury found for The Art Institute on the fraud claims, and a take nothing judgment was entered against . I let them have it. I tried filling out the BDAR application but apparently its not available at this time? Art institute must satisfy our platform. I have had scattered employment over the years and in 2013 I started an income based repayment plan. Yet it went on for 15 years, duped some of the world's most sophisticated collectors, brought down a 165-year-old New York . If the loan is Private, call McCarthy Law PLC at 1-877-317-0455. They completely robbed me blind and the runaround kept me from even getting a degree.they say i owe them money for a class i never took and couldnt attend until i payed. I was constantly pulled into the counselors office to sign more loan docs with my mom as a co-signer. Former students can obtain the art institute loan forgiveness under these provisions. And that these fake rates were the deciding factor that convinced me to take out a loan to attend the school as well as get my parents to assist with Parent Plus Loans, do you think I could win my case as well as my parents? I think youll be able to win an approval for a Discharge if you can make it clear that you were tricked, swindled, defrauded by that data. I attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale 1985-6. Ive never been able to make the ridiculously high payments, so my credit is completely destroyed. I am curious on a few things that was said and shown to me and was wondering if that could be used for the programs. These companies charge to help you figure out which programs youre eligible for and take care of paperwork. I have started on filling my case but I just want to make sure I am eligible for the Borrower Defense to Repayment Discharge program since I graduated from the AI of Chicago in 2003. Used high-pressure sales tactics on students that they knew werent right for the school. I dont have a link to the court documents, but you may be able to find them via Google searches. To prevent further liability and legal actions from various stakeholders, Education Management Corp consented to settle $95 million. I printed and saved them as PDFs and hope that will help as documentation backup. It would be impossible to name them. Also, remember to watch out for scams and fraudulent websites. Maybe? Since then, I have consolidated the loan and have been trying to make payments. Ive now started towards completing a certification in an entirely unrelated field; computer programming. This program is getting much faster responses than the Borrowers Defense Program, as Betsy DeVos hasnt been able to crush it like she did to BDAR and PSLF, so my advice is to try submitting an application and seeing if that works out. What you need to explain is how the school committed fraud against you. sorry for any grammatical mistakes. 4. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Licensed for 22 years. Hi Tim! similar stories to everyone here. Required fields are marked *. No one is going to forgive loans because of bad teachers, for example. However, an applicant can wait an entire year for the application to be processed. The Art Institute of Chicago agreed to pay nearly $200 million in damages after a class-action lawsuit was filed against the school. I cant take wayback machine screen shots, as this was before standard internet. I had so many phone call from a different advisor at least every month. Litigation Lawyer in Provo, UT. For my claim and my parents claim, if we hammer on the fact that AI broke the law, specifically Oregon Deceptive Trade Practices Laws by using fake graduate employment rates. Your email address will not be published. You can be confident about the legitimacy of the Borrowers Defense program. Hi Tim, you can still qualify even if your student loan is in default. Weve made our information as easy to digest as possible to help you determine what youre entitled to. Thank, Cozie Harris, ive have tried to get in contact with you for a couple of years now please contact me. If you can find any claims on the site that speak to these sorts of false promises or illegal marketing activities, and if you can include screenshots of those in your application, then you are truly golden and nearly certain to get an approval! The lawsuit claims that the defendants have not complied with the terms of their agreements. Just wondering. It was filed by the students who were unable to afford their college fees. The Education Department has agreed to expand the period of eligibility under the Closed School Student Loan Discharge Program. Has anyone received more information about this? My last quarter there was July-Sept 2018 with the school closing in December 2018. My son came out of the art Institute of ft lauderdale $100,000.00 in debt. Parker March 19, 2022 3 min read. That promise that youd graduate making over $50,000 a year, is basically a slam-dunk case for a Borrowers Defense Discharge. My son attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh & I know we were mislead about his job prospects and the help he would receive obtaining employment after graduation. Today, many students are eligible to have their loans completely discharged! Did you submit a BDAR request or a Closed School Discharge application? I have had this on my back my whole life, and I dont know what to do. Thoughts? Im goin through the process with both loans school closure and Borrowers defense I received a letter for the school closure loan today saying that i need a letter on letterhead paper from the school stating that they closed the art institute we never received that from Tinley or Schaumburg yes weve been through both and still have nothing to show for anything I really would like to discuss this with you is there any way we could talk Im ready to beat my head off the wall over this stuff its ridiculous it just makes me sick please get back with me my number is (555) 555-5555 If you can talk with me or if you prefer me to type all my stuff out I can do that I just need some real advice. I filed the BDAR and it is not clear if I got approved or not, so I am filing a new one and still fighting!!! The Sally Mae one refused to work with me on a repayment plan when i had no job and just differed or forbearanced my loans till i didnt have the option but to pay them $600 a month when i was at the time unemployed in California. False promises and false advertising are typically the best claims for a BDAR discharge. Can someone contact me in regards to this. The BDAR letters used to have to be hand written, and it was much more complicated, but theyve streamlined things significantly. The class-action lawsuit also names three individuals at EDMC. The law firm hired by the school recently filed a court motion to compel Kristina Dodge to produce documents about the couple's financial situation. I never even felt comfortable enough with what they taught me to ever go for a position in that field as close as I got was a waitress I didnt feel they taught me anything other than reading and following a recipe in a book! If you attended an Art-related college or university and are now facing this situation, it is important to seek legal help as soon as possible.