Thread regarding Heald College layoffs

871- the company is getting what they deserve.

I couldn’t even tell at the time if I had been fired, or simply laid off. The company told its employees nothing, and many of us were good, sincere professors who simply couldn’t land a better job at the time than as adjuncts in a for-profit university. Though, admittedly, one certainly heard from students from time to time that other professors never responded to them and were hardly ever present in their classes, which just seemed unbelievable. Who were these professors and how did they keep their jobs?

Well, they kept their jobs, it seems, because the corporates and the administrators throughout Corinthian cared far less about education and students than they did about turning a profit. And now the truth hits the fan. Corinthian is closing for good, I know my performance as an educator was solid and that my termination was no fault of my own, and I’ve since found a new gig writing for a few left-wing political blogs online from home (wink, wink), and guess what – I make better money.

Anyone who knows anything about living as a writer knows that making a living off of writing is about as difficult, and leaves one about as poor, as one can get, unless you are one of the lucky handful to make it to the levels and likes of a Stephen King.

What does that tell you about the quality of Corinthian schools? Not only did they screw their students, they screwed their staff, too. You’re better off making a living trying to scrape by as a writer. So long, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., and good riddance.

Of course, fudging those numbers made Corinthian schools more appealing to potential students, which helped build the f*cked and greedy columns that Corinthian eventually became. It’s inflated job-placement rates helped entice many new students into Heald business schools, for example. Interestingly, as well, Corinthian stated Sunday that its attempts to sell Heald have so far failed.

Another point of note regarding the closing of Corinthian schools is that none of the 50 percent of schools Corinthian sold off last November were based in California. Instead, California Attorney General Kamala Harris opted to go after restitution for the thousands of students burned by the company working so hard to “provide quality education and an opportunity for a better future” for its students. In California, Corinthian is simply being forced to shut its doors with a resounding clang.

Putting a little extra stank on it, the Education Department claimed only last week that it would be considering squashing federal student loans to students who can prove they were suckered by the suckfish-in-education’s-clothing. An investigation has been ongoing against Corinthian in 20 states – nearly half the country! – and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued its ass, as well. The company is also staring down the barrel of three probes for possible federal offenses.

And speaking as a former adjunct professor for Everest University, truth be known, I can personally attest to the fact that early on in my time working for the university, from about 2007 – 2011, things were good. You weren’t paid exactly as well as you should have been, but there was plenty of work, and one could make a decent living teaching from home, or from one of numerous local campuses. I worked online in those years as a writing instructor, and continued on until July of 2013, when I was abruptly fired with no notice whatsoever after witnessing the decline of Corinthian from the inside for the last two years. I didn’t even know I was let go until I contacted the company and asked why I had not received classes so far and it was the first day of the semester. Their response was merely a form email telling me I’d been let go. When I followed up with questions, they remained vague and tried to imply it was to do with my performance as an instructor despite my having just received two of the best performance reviews of my teaching career.