Suing the Art Institute of Tennessee

[Colonialhead]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

Hi all, I am new to this forum but found it while browsing for answers to my legal question. I thought I would give it a shot.

My question is this: Is it possible to sue a learning institution, (in this case Art Institute of Tennessee) for false advertising or poor educational standards?

I enrolled at the AI of Tennessee last spring in their Culinary Arts program. At the time of my recruitment, I was promised:

• A top notch education from executive level chefs and teachers.
• Smaller class sizes (less than 20 students per class) for more personal attention
• Access to state-of-the art computer equipment
• Targeted career placement services
• All of the food and equipment necessary to learn

Among other things...

The per-semester cost for this culinary program was $8,000.00 per semester or roughly 85K for the entire 3-year program.

I found out early on during my first semester that most of the slick recruiting tactics used to entice prospective students were false promises.

All three of my first semester courses had closer to 30 students, and two classes were being taught by first time professors. None of the teachers were executive level chefs.
One of the professors (Sanitation and Safety) was not a chef at all in fact and was bartering his services for free education.

Later on during my first semester, the food preparation class began to run out of supplies. We would frequently come to class only to find that there was nothing to do except "practice knife cuts" the few requisitioned supplies that were available.

Yet through it all, the school always made sure that the feasts and presentations that were offered during orientation days for prospective students was beautifully arranged and organized.

There were other issues with the school as well, but it would take me forever to communicate them here. You get the point though. The bottom line was that the school was severely sub-par, kept none of the promises they made during the recruitment phase and did not deliver on the $85,000.00 dollar education they promised.

I completed one semester of classes (passed all them) and, after speaking with the Director of the Culinary Department who pleaded with me to give the school one more semester, gave them the benefit of the doubt before pulling out.

The second semester picked up right where the first semester left off, so it took little time for me to drop out and discontinue my education with the Art Institute of Tennessee.

Unfortunately, even the 1.5 semesters that I did stick around for have now put me in the hole for almost ten grand. This is $10,000.00 that I might as well have pulled from my rear end and immediately flushed down the toilet because I have absolutely nothing to show for it.

I haven't had to pay on the Sallie May portion of my loan yet, but the 2nd semester costs were not covered by the lender, as the lender only covers the costs if you pull put prior to the dropout date. So the school has incurred those costs and they are billing me for that separate amount.

What are my options with this situation?
Will a lawyer touch this case?

I am not trying to make a payday for myself here. I am not trying to sue for additional expenses I accrued while traveling to the campus. I merely want these costs to be wiped clean. I am willing to chalk my other losses up as a learning experience, but feel strongly that the school should pay for the rest.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.What is the name of your state?

 

[quincy]

Yes, it is possible to sue a learning institution.

Suits, often class-action suits, have been filed against schools in the past for misrepresentation, deceptive recruitment acts, inadequate instruction and instructors, and inadequate facilities and equipment, among other things.

The Art Institute of Tennessee was founded in 2006 and it is part of the Art Institutes chain of schools. I could not locate any lawsuits filed against this particular Tennessee Institute but, as a new school, it is entirely possible that the promises made when recruiting students were greater than what they found they could deliver, which may create legal problems for them in the future.

Because the Art Institutes are for-profit schools, their emphasis is on recruitment - more students equal more money. When student populations are low, the students may find cut-backs being made on educational supplies and equipment, and the facilities may be stark, often with classes held in leased buildings. In addition, the accreditation status of some of these institutions may make credit transfers difficult if a student is looking to enroll in a graduate program.

The Career Education Corporation and the ITT Tech schools (both for-profit chains) had, and some continue to have, similar problems. Several of the schools, located in various states across the country, have been sued, and investigations have been conducted by the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 1995, as one example, seven students at an ITT Tech Institute in San Diego sued under circumstances similar to the ones you say you have experienced at the Art Institute. Although in the original San Diego suit, the jury awarded the students general damages of $200,000 and exemplary damages of $6.6 million and attorney fees and costs of $900,000 plus interest, this judgment was reversed on appeal and the case was eventually dismissed.

In 2005, Sixty Minutes did a segment on for-profit schools (the American InterContinental University owned by Career Education Corporation, ITT, the Art Institutes, and others) and in March of 2005, Congressional hearings were conducted on fraud in for-profit schools, with discussions often focusing on the schools listed above.

You could certainly contact an attorney and discuss the possibility of suing the Art Institute, but the costs involved in bringing a suit can be large - far more than the $10,000 you are looking to recover. If you lose the suit, and there is a very real chance that you could, you would have wasted a lot of time, expended a lot of energy, and be out thousands and thousands of dollars.

An attorney, however, may be very interested in hearing about your situation - there could be other students with similar complaints filed - and consider it worth looking into. In addition, you could contact your state Senator and Representative.

 

[cmw99us]

Suing a university

I have experienced a similar situation with a state university in Connecticut. In the student teachers handbook it states, "professors work with adminstrators to place students for teaching field experiences." It goes on to state that students may not set up their own placements. Field experiences are required for every course I have taken. It is not possible to pass without a field experience for each class. Talk about a no win situation? Then, I would be on the telephone all day--every day---calling school districts and pleading with them to provide me with a field experience---every semester! And this university has been paid for their incompetencies! Then, I was retaliated against by adminstrators, faculty and staff who engaged in colusion and subrafuge, and now---slander. I will search until the end of the earth to find an attorney willing to handle my case on contigency. I've been advised by 7 different attorneys that I have several viable claims only they require substantial money up front....

 

[quincy]

Cmw99us -

It is the rare case that will be taken on a contingency basis. The cost v. the risks are too great for most attorneys to want to handle such an action, without clear and convincing evidence that they can win a suit and recoup their expenses.

You may want to check out legal aid clinics in your area, however, which offer low or no-cost assistance for those who qualify, if your situation is one where a legal solution is realistically possible.

Connecticutt's Department of Education may be of assistance, as well, if you are discovering problems with a school, college or university that cannot be addressed, or has not been addressed, through the educational institution's own administration.

 

[cmw99us]

Documentation to support facts...

Thank you for your response Quincy,

My complaints are being assessed by the university system, which is within the department of education. I received a report which was completed by the unversity adminstrators, faculty and staff. The report just about slanders my character completely. It is full of fabrications of the truth as well as omittances of occurences. It would take me $30.00 just to mail the documentation that I have which contradicts those statements made by the administrators, faculty and staff. The documentation includes almost 2 years of correspondence between myself, adminstrators, faculty and staff showing the difficulties this university gave me every step of the way; in the form of emails and certified return receipt mail. I am fairly confident that it can be proven at the very least, that most of what was stated in the report is untrue. I did not feel that this agency would help me, therefore, I composed 2 formal complaints that I intend to send to the "Office For Civil Rights" within the US Department of Education. I am have been corresponding with one of the largest Civil Rights groups in the country. I will be contacting the laision Monday to make sure this will not harm any case I may have against them. I have been to 10 different attorneys who have all told me that I have viable claims.

 

[quincy]

It sounds like you are already accomplishing a lot on your own, cmw99us. I wish you good luck with the Civil Rights group on Monday.

It is certainly helpful to be told by so many lawyers that you seem to have a legitimate cause of action, although not so helpful, I'm sure, to be told they can't handle the matter for you.

One other possibility for you might be to check with the largest law firms in your area, to see if they do pro bono work. Many large firms require their attorneys to log a certain number of hours a month handling pro bono cases.

At any rate, good luck.

 

[cmw99us]

Thank you again, Quincy.

 

[quincy]

You're welcome.