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A number of culinary school students who filed a class-action suit against the San Francisco-based California Culinary Academy may have caught a break against the for-profit college charged with misleading tuition-paying students.
The students alleged that they were misled by the for-profit institution, which advertised a 97 percent job placement rate despite the fact that many graduates were working as waiters and baristas at Starbucks. And in some cases, the suit claims, the college invented culinary positions which graduates never held, according to California Watch, a nonpartisan investigative reporting outlet.
In a pending $40 million settlement, school officials have agreed to offer rebates of up to $20,000 to 8,500 former students.
The story of misleading information is not a new one in the world of for-profit education.
The California Culinary Academy, owned by for-profit education company Career Education Corp., is just one of a number of California for-profit educators offering culinary degrees being investigated for dishonest recruiting. Students often feel pressured into enrolling in programs without access to sufficient employment information, according to critics of the schools.
Tuition totals more than $17,000 per semester at the academy, which offers a 30-week baking program and a 16-month culinary arts degree. It’s not unusual for students to incur tens of thousands of dollars in debt while enrolled.
Though the Culinary Academy is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, it lacks regional accreditation, making it difficult for students to receive transfer credit for their work there at traditional institutions.
Despite the current allegations, though, a number of the school’s graduates have gone on to high-profile positions at the Food Network and successful restaurants.
Career Education Corp. spokespeople maintain that the instances of dishonest recruitment at the school are confined to individual cases of corruption, though former students claim the problems are systemic within the for-profit educator.
Forbes speculates that a portion of the growing unrest among culinary students at for-profit universities is due to the reality setting in for students who returned to school with dreams of becoming high-end chefs or opening their own restaurants. In the highly competitive world of commercial cooking—daunting even for talented chefs who understand how tough the job market is—there’s little room for starry-eyed enthusiasts who don’t understand the risks.
Career Education Corp. operates 90 schools nationwide with total enrollment of roughly 100,000, including 16 culinary programs. A similar lawsuit is pending against the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, also owned by Career Education Corp.
Jon Christian is a staff writer with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @Jon_Christian.
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