Dive Brief:
- Florida Career College, a for-profit chain focusing on fields like healthcare and information technology, will close its remaining campuses by Feb. 15, a representative for the institution told state regulators Thursday.
- The U.S. Department of Education said it would end FCC’s access to federal financial aid this month. The move came after the agency accused the college of tampering with materials that determine if certain students are eligible for federal financial aid.
- Pulling federal funding proved to be a fatal blow. Florida Career College took in more than 87% of its revenue from Title IV funds for the 2021 fiscal year, totaling more than $86 million.
Dive Insight:
The events that led to FCC’s closure concern the Education Department’s ability-to-benefit regulations, which allow students without a high school diploma or equivalent to qualify for federal aid if they pass a test.
In 2020, the Republic Report, a nonprofit news site, published accounts of former Florida Career College employees who alleged they had seen doctored and falsified ability-to-benefit tests at the institution.
A 2023 Education Department investigation found that the college’s proctors took tests for students, changed their answers and allowed them to use calculators in violation of test rules.
Officials at the college and its parent company, International Education Corp., knew about the violations and encouraged them, the department alleged, with the goal of maximizing the number of students enrolled.
More than 40% of the college’s students had come through the ability-to-benefit tests, according to the Education Department. Between 2016 and 2021, over half of those students left college without completing their 10-month certificates, the agency said.
Last April, the Education Department said it would only continue the college’s access to federal aid until September 2023.
The department later agreed to extend participation in the financial aid system until January 2024 but did not allow Florida Career College to enroll new students receiving federal aid.
FCC officials have publicly denied the department’s accusations.
The college announced its pending closure at a meeting of the Florida Commission on Independent Education. Republic Report first reported the news.
“I am pleased to report that we are conducting an orderly closure with integrity and quality,” Dannys Rabelo, regional director of regulatory compliance for International Education Corp., said at the meeting. “We are one of very few postsecondary education schools that made the expensive but responsible decision to teach out our FCC students.”
International Education Corp also owns United Education Institute and UEI College, as well as the unaccredited U.S. Colleges and Sage Truck Driving Schools.
