From the Career Center:
Class Presentations By Trade/Tech School Recruiters

It has come to the attention of our College Counselor, Ann Keitel, and me that the recruitment tactics of private trade and technical school representatives have become more and more deceitful and misleading. Some of these reps have gained entrance to your classrooms to give presentations on careers or other topics, but at the end, they always do their recruiting and ask students to fill out a card "just for their records." What happens next is that the students are contracted at home, by phone and in person (yes, they literally ring doorbells) by aggressive recruiters making unrealistic compromises regarding financial aid and future jobs. These recruiters never disclose the schools tuition, but we have learned that a typical 9-12 month course cost from $15,000-25,000. The financial aid that is offered is mostly going to be in the form of a loan. Keep in mind that most of the careers for which the students are training are very low paying.

Besides the issue of cost, there are a number of other reasons we try to dissuade students from enrolling in proprietary schools. If a student does receive financial aid and then later decides to further his/her education at a college or university, he/she may find that his/her allotment of aid has been used up. In addition, courses from a trade school do not yield transferable college credits. A student could spend thousands of dollars for an occupational certificate, then later decide to go back to school only to realize he/she has to begin as a freshman with no available financial aid.

There are certainly a few propriety schools that provide excellent training and are held in high regard by professionals in the various industries. If we make such judgments and allow only certain schools to recruit on our campus, but not others, we open ourselves to complaints and criticism. If a student wants information about any proprietary school, I can help then find it, but Ill always advise him/her to be way.

Ann and I tell students that in most cases, they can receive the same, if not better, training at a community college or LAUSD occupational center for a fraction of the cost. I am here to help students individually find appropriate community college or occupational center programs that fit their career goals. If Santa Monica College doesnt have it, someplace else does!

Ann and I have agreed that the private trade schools are not welcome on our campus. They are not invited to the annual Career Fair and we would like to ask you to not invite them into your classes. We recognize that their presentations are entertaining, informative, and professional, but they may lead to disastrous on the part of our students.