Dennis Dunleavy

Oversight of vocational schools may end soon in California

For nearly 20 years, the State of California has protected its citizens from the possibility of unscrupulous business practices by for-profit colleges and vocational institutions.  In the past, some educational establishments have pushed students through in order to increase earnings.

Now, it appears, government oversight of these schools will end in July if all goes as planned according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

More than 400,000 students are currently enrolled in vocational training and for-profit colleges in the state, which raises fears that dismantling the legal system overseeing ethical standards may invite corruption and abuse.

The agency responsible for regulating the 1,800 schools has had a checkered past in terms of enforcement. Two years ago, Brooks Institute of Photography was investigated for misleading recruitment practices, only to have the case dismissed later by an administrative judge after finding the agency failed to follow state protocols.

According to the article:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-led Legislature are trying to reach an agreement on how to refashion the law, but none is on the horizon. The issues in dispute include how aggressive a regulatory role the state should have and what to do between July and January, the earliest that a new law could be enacted.

In 2005, an independent monitor appointed by the Legislature concluded that state regulation of the schools "has been plagued by problems for the past 20 years" and that shortcomings identified repeatedly in audits still persist."

All problems with the agency aside, overseeing and regulating institutions is an unfortunate reality at a time when the costs of vocational education, such as those services offered by Brooks Institute of Photography, can be extremely steep.  Continued vigilance of how educational instutions maintain ethical standards is needed primarily because students, in my opinion, are vulnerable to scams and exaggerated claims.

Educators, for-profit or not, are responsible to the public in terms of how they represent themselves. Oversight is necessary, in this case, because of it is too easy to sell snake oil and pipe dreams to young people looking to improve their lives through education.

Stories and links about Brooks Institute of Photography

Repsonding to a request for more information about the situation at Brooks Institute of Photography I am putting together a chronological listing of some of the stories and links I have collected. In addition to conducting a web related search for links to stories about Brooks, I have also searched the LexisNexis database through our Hannon Library at Southern Oregon University. The list is in no way complete. If you have any other references to add to this bibilography please feel free to email me or comment on the blog.

On July 19, 2005, Business Wire and the Financial Times reported how Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, owned by Career Education Corporation, was given a notice of conditional approval to operate from the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.

The following day, The Ventura County Star, Santa Barbara Press, the Associated Press, and   Inside Higher Ed ran articles about how the school was being investigated by the state for alledgedly "willfully" misleading prospective students to enroll at Brooks.  According to these early accounts, the Associated Press reported that "Former Brooks administrator Cam Van Wingerden triggered the state investigation in September 2003 when she alleged school officials forged and tampered with student files and administrative records, purportedly so the school's then-new Ventura campus could pass inspection by accreditors."

Within the first week of the news about the investigation, the Ventura County Star reported how the school would appeal a report by the state education watchdog agency.

The buzz about Brooks began in earnest, however, after The New York Times's Gretchen Morgensen wrote a story titled, "The School that Skipped Ethics Class," on July 24, 2005. Shortly after publication, Morgenson's story was picked up on A Photo A Day and the Digital Journalist. The story also made its way onto blogs like this one and  StockPhotoTalk also followed the news about the investigation.

Interestingly, in December 2005, the Ventura County Star also covered a story about how some Brooks students produced a film about the school's legal woes, which was promptly banned by the institute.

In a January 2006 article, The New York Times in reporting on New York State's move to freeze the growth of vocational and commercial schools in the state mentions California's problems with regulating institutions and mentions Brooks Institute of Photography as an example.

By March 2006, Brooks had won its legal battle with state regulators. Consequently, another round of reportage covered the issue including, a Business Wire story on March 16 titled, "Career Education Corporation Announces Favorable Decision for Brooks Institute of Photography; Judge Invalidates Actions of California Bureau."  The local papers also reported on the court's decision.

In In August 2006, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on legislative debates in California concerning regulating for-profit colleges such as the University of Phoenix and Brooks Institute of Photography.

January 2007, Ventura County Star,  "Brooks Institute under microscope:State critics say school misleads  its students" by John Scheibe.  
The Vault Student Surveys has a number of comments about admissions requirements for Brooks Institute of Photography.

Brooks Institute of Photography Lawyers Want Fraud Case Dropped

Last summer, The Brooks Institute of Photography got into hot water with regulators from the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education claiming that the 60-year-old trade school misrepresented itself to prospective students.

In July 2005, the New York Times reported that an investigation alleges that a student could earn as much as $150,000 in the first year after graduation from Brooks. 

Despite a strong denial of any funny business from school administrators, regulators attempted to impose sanctions on Brooks including, repaying students' tutition for those enrolled at the school from 1999 to 2005.

Brooks attorneys promptly appealed the restrictions in court and the case has lingered until last week.

According to the Ventura County Star, Brooks' attorney, Frank E. Merideth, appeared before an administrative court hearing claiming the bureau "exceeded" its authority during its investigative of the school. State prosecutors are sticking with the regulators claims. A judge is now considering Brooks' appeal and will decide in a few weeks whether or not to uphold the sanctions.