The whistle was blown on Everest college way before Laurie McConnell spoke up. In 2010 I was "laid off" and told my position "no longer existed in the corporate structure" the day after the company figured out I'd been the one to not only report half a dozen instances of academic and financial fraud to the company's "anonymous" hotline, but to the California DOE and AG. And this was also one day before the annual bonus pay out. Since I wasn't fired, I had no recourse. I had to feed my family, so I got to work finding a new job, and moved on. At least I was able to leave with my head held high, knowing I had done everything I could to make sure things were done right at three of the SoCal campuses instead of follow in the footsteps of my predecessors and fellow campus "leaders" - or should I say, puppets.
Now that Everest is finally getting shut down, I'm very happy. But not for the students. At least at my campuses, I was able to ensure they received solid training from teachers who were well-trained themselves, admitted by representatives who knew I was watching them, and were not defrauded by financial aid representatives. I did all that because I'm not a finance person or a recruiter, but an educator, trained in school leadership and management. Most career college leaders are not. That is one of the reasons they fall for the big $$$ in their pockets every quarter. I walked away from that type of work 4 years ago and will never go back to it.