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Written by: Emily Brumfield
Published: 10/05/2005 Decker College Closes Campuses Amid Lawsuits, Federal Investigations
After coming under fire for questionable federal student aid practices, Decker College, a for-profit institution based in Louisville, Kentucky, has closed several of its campuses. Decker College is partially owned by William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts and gubernatorial hopeful in New York.
Decker College has made headlines in the past months over lawsuits claiming deceptive recruiting practices, and has had complaints of inadequate instruction. William Weld, a senior manager of Decker College, is also a principal of Leeds Weld & Company, an investment firm which owns a minority stake in Decker as well. Another investment of Leeds Weld is Franklin Career Services, which has recently declared bankruptcy amid lawsuits for fraudulent student loan practices.
Decker College has closed campuses in Jacksonville, Florida, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and one in Louisville, in order to “save cash,” according to chief financial officer Mark Stein. Stein also reports that employees have not been paid for their last pay-period, and does not know when the checks will be available. Decker has stopped taking new students and has closed its admissions offices. The Decker College website is no longer functional.
Due to complaints made by three Decker students as to the adequacy of the curriculum, the Kentucky Board for Proprietary Education has opened an investigation of the college. The US Department of Education has also restricted Decker’s use of federal financial aid, requiring them to verify students’ eligibilities prior to releasing the funds to Decker. The restrictions have been in place since June, but Mr. Stein said that Decker had supplied all paperwork the Department required for a reversal of the restrictions. According to Mr. Stein, “somebody just needs to press the button and release the funds,” for Decker College to be fully functional once more.
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