10/20/2018  纽约市消费者事务局(Department of Consumer Affairs)19日宣布起诉纽约州大型营利性大学伯克利学院(Berkeley College)，指出该校违反了消费者保护法(Consumer Protection Law)和地方讨债法规(local debt collection rules)。该校目前约有4000名学生，国际学生有37%是来自中国的留学生。 市消费者事务局局长莎拉斯(Lorelei Salas)19日宣布，纽约州高等法院对伯克利学院提出诉讼，指该学院违反了多项消费者法，“营利性大学更像是一门生意，就像大多数生意一样，他们的首要目标是赚取利润”；招生人员为了吸引更多学生入读，专门灌输学生想听的信息，尤其是联邦学生补助、转学学分、毕业后就业等内容，将并不属实的内容告诉学生入学，很多学生也听信了招生官的虚假信息。 消费者事务局对伯克利学院进行近两年的调查，与几十名在校生、已经毕业学生和被录取学生进行面试，卧底调查，查阅上千页学院文件后，发现该学院录取过程中不择手段，并诱骗很多少数族裔、第一大移民、低收入大学生，让他们担负潜在的财务责任，还歪曲其他高等院校的信息。 起诉书中举例，伯克利学院的招生官假装站在被录取学生的立场，承诺帮助学生获得学费补助，但实际上他们并未将联邦学生补助等奖学金申请如何运作告诉学生。 有一名学生入学时签了大量文件，以为自己获得了奖学金，但一年后当她想更新申请表时，才发现她的奖学金每学期只有1130元(她作为兼职学生的学费为每学期4475元)，但她已经向联邦贷款高达1万3197元，她才意识最初签字的文件是学生贷款文件。由于无法解决资金问题，她不得不退学，至今无法再重回校园。 伯克利学院还在转换学分、选择专业和毕业就业方面欺骗学生，招生官告诉学生的毕业率和就业率都远高于实际情况，学院还在收取学生债务时隐瞒学校名称，指示学生还款至“BES, Inc.”。学院还曾发生过指控学生没有及时还清欠款而拒绝向其发放毕业证书，但实际上该生并未欠钱。 市议长张晟(Corey Johnson)呼吁意识到被骗的学生可找选区内市议员反映情况，或拨打311，也可在消费者事务局网站nyc.gov/dca进行投诉。  APLUS教学中心 | 一对一辅导服务中心 | 申请咨询顾问中心  10/20/2018  One of the largest for-profit colleges in the state of New York has been sued for alleged deceptive and predatory practices that violate consumer and local debt collection rules, the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) announced Friday. DCA’s lawsuit, filed in New York County Supreme Court, alleges a number of violations and wide-ranging consumer harm. It also seeks to end Berkeley’s unlawful practices and restore any illegal profits back to consumers. A DCA investigation allegedly revealed, among other things, that the college’s recruiters said whatever the prospective student wanted to hear, “especially when it comes to academic programs, employment, transfer credits, and federal student loans – regardless of the truth – to convince them to enroll,” DCA Commissioner Lorelei Salas said. “For-profit colleges are businesses, and like most businesses, their top priority is generating profits,” Salas said, adding that the college’s alleged “aggressive recruiting tactics are designed to prey on the hopes and dreams of consumers seeking improved career prospects and greater financial security to better care for themselves and their families.” The lawsuit accuses Berkeley College of: misleading students about financial aid, including federal financial aid; tricking students into taking out “payment plan” loans directly from the institution even if the student wants to pay tuition balances up front; and deceiving students about institutional grants that require students to borrow the maximum amount of loans available to students through the federal government before Berkeley will award the grant, which does not need to be repaid. Additionally, the lawsuit accuses the college of deceiving students about transfer credits, majors, and careers, as well as violating local debt collection laws by concealing its identity from former students when collecting debt, including debt that is not owed. “For-profit colleges are primarily concerned with their bottom line, not the welfare of their students,” Council Member Rafael Espinal said in a statement. “At a time when student debt is soaring, it is unacceptable that schools like Berkeley are preying on people – many of them from low-income backgrounds – seeking to better their lives.” DCA encourages any consumer who believes they may have experienced any wrongdoing by Berkeley College to contact the agency by calling 311 or by filing a complaint at nyc.gov/dca. In a statement to NBC 4 New York, Berkeley College denies the allegations and says it will "vigourously defend the College aganst the DCA's accusations." "We repeatedly sought the opportunity to review any allegations with the DCA. However, DCA officials denied our requests to discuss the claims before they pursued this action. Berkeley College has provided more than 52,000 pages of documentation in accordance with the DCA’s requests," the college's statement says, adding that the institution has an 87-year history of serving students "under the highest principles." |    Principal,  Tel: (301)906-6889; (240)912-6290 Licensed in MD, VA, DC, PA WeChat ID: sunnychenyuqing NMLS # 1220187 President, Principal Loan Consultant, Leader Funding, Inc.  电话: (240) 784-6645 Rockville, MD Phone: 301-366-3497 |
