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Bureau
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May 15, 2008
Dear Caliber Training Institute
Students and Former Employees:
On March
28, 2008, the Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS), an office within
the New York State Education Department (NYSED), denied the license renewal of
Caliber Training Institute (CTI). This
action was taken following a three-year investigation which revealed many
serious violations of the law that governs CTI.
There were numerous situations where students were allowed
to continue at CTI, even though based on their attendance records and academic performance, they should have been previously
terminated. CTI collected more tuition
than allowed, warranting a finding of fraudulent activity. Students were admitted who had not passed the
entrance exam. The curriculum was not
taught as approved. The equipment was
poor. There were unlicensed and
unqualified teachers. The classrooms
were overcrowded. As many of the programs were in the allied health field,
BPSS was concerned about the future care of the public by people who had received
deficient training over the past three years.
Through no fault of your own, BPSS had to take this action to stop
the school from continuing to harm students by collecting tuition for a poor
education.
As we
found so many problems with the educational programs at CTI, we are unable to
approve a formal teach out for you to continue your education at another
institution. However, we have been in
touch with several other institutions who have offered to meet with you,
evaluate your situation, and discuss the possibility of your continuing your
program at a new institution.
Toward
this end, we want to let you know what your options are under the Education Law
since BPSS has taken the action to deny the license renewal of CTI.
Stipends: You may have been told to come to BPSS to collect a balance due to you from Caliber. We do not have these funds. Caliber collected the funds, and this money is due to you from the school.
Former Employees: The New York State Education Department, BPSS, has not seized or frozen the assets or bank accounts of CTI. That is beyond the authority of this agency. Any salary due is the responsibility of CTI. You may wish to contact the New York State Department of Labor for assistance.
Option 1:
Select an institution for consideration of continuing your education
The
following institutions are interested in speaking with you. Should you not see a similar program to
yours, please visit our web site for a complete directory of schools at
www.acces.nysed.gov/bpss.
Contact: Amit Shorewala Electrocardiography, 54 hours
(718) 575-3223
Ace Computer Training Center Same
as
2nd Floor
Contact: Annette Luke
(718) 291-2200
Allen School Same as
Contact: Lillian Mitchell
(718) 243-1700
Branford Hall Career Institute Medical
Assistant, 960 hours
Contact: Dr. Kureshi
(631) 589-1222
Career
Contact: Carrie Cassanelli, Michael Iannacone
(212) 675-6655
Career
& Technology
3rd Floor
Contact: Yvonne O’Connor
(718) 422-1212
Career Institute of Health Same as
& Technology
200 Garden City Plaza
Contact: Monifa Skelton
(516) 877-1225
Chubb Institute Medical Assistant, 816 hours
498
Contact: Dorothy
Finkel-Laverty, James Cruz
(212) 659-2116
Franklin Career Institute Medical Assistant,1500 hours
Contact: Richard
Crance Medical
Billing, 100 hours
(516) 481-4444 Nurse Assistant,125 hours
5325
Contact: Richard
Levy
(718) 535-3333
3601 Hempstead Turnpike Medical Assistant, 900
hours
Contact: Olga Adams
(516) 796-1000
Hunter Business School Same as
3247 Route 112
Contact: Annette Jao
(631) 736-7360
Contact: Douglas
Jordan
(718) 793-2330
Our Planet Management Inst. Certified
Nurse Aide, 125 hours
Contact: Juan Carlos Nunez
(212) 269-4000
Sanford-Brown Institute Medical Assistant, 900 hours
Contact: Mr. Anthony Jones
(646) 313-4510
Option 2: Receive a
refund of all pre-paid tuition
CTI was a
licensed proprietary school. It is the
responsibility of Caliber Training Institute to refund all tuition to its
source. However, in the event that the
school fails to do this, the money you paid or was paid out on your behalf is
protected. As no teach out agreement has
been approved, you are entitled to receive a refund of any pre-paid tuition,
even if you elect to continue your education at another institution. If you paid out the money, then the refund
will be sent to you. If the money was
paid out on your behalf from a lending institution (in the form of a private
loan), then the lending institution will receive a refund. In order to receive the refund, you must fill
out a complaint form which was made
available to you by the BPSS representatives who visited your school. The form may also be obtained on our web site
under Information for Students, www.acces.nysed.gov/bpss.
Option 3: Students who
borrowed loans through the Direct Loan programs, and want to request a
discharge, should contact the
The phone number for the
https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/BorrowerWelcomePage.jsp
The web link to discharge forms on
the Department's website is:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/forms.html
More information will be forthcoming
regarding loan discharge as we continue to work with the United States
Department of Education and Higher Education Services Corporation. Please refer back to this information for
updates.
Option 4: For Dental Assistant students ONLY
If you
are a current student and wish to continue your dental assistant studies, you
may take your transcript to another institution. The school will evaluate your situation. It is possible that the institution will
grant you some advanced standing. It is
also possible that the institution will decide that you need to begin from the
beginning of their program. This
decision rests with the institution; BPSS will have no say in this matter.
Your
program was no longer recognized by CTI’s accrediting agency, ACCSCT, due to
deficiencies that were identified. In
January 2008, BPSS notified CTI that due to this action, the program was to
cease and full refunds were to be made.
CTI failed to follow this directive and continued the instruction. Due to a lack of accreditation, it will not
be possible for you to become certified with a certificate of training at
Caliber. In addition to trying to
continue at another school, you may also consider seeking loan forgiveness
through the United States Department of Education or to seek a refund for
pre-paid personal payments through BPSS.
Option 5:
For all students currently completing externships
It is the
Bureau’s position that the externship component of the programs was separate
from the curriculum. The supervision of
these externships was not under CTI. We
will offer you two options, provided you are currently working at the
externship site. This will not apply if
you have not already begun at the externship site.
Provided
you believe you are mastering the required skills for your course of study, we
will honor the completion of the program.
A certificate of completion would be from CTI, issued by BPSS. If the facility fails to recommend you for
program completion, you will not be eligible for a certificate. In that instance, you will need to seek
either loan discharge or a refund through BPSS.
Several
of the externship sites have contacted BPSS regarding the students currently
completing their externships at their facilities. Part of the agreement between CTI and the
sites was that CTI was to maintain liability insurance to protect the students
and the site while working. This
insurance is no longer in effect. For
this reason, you may not be able to complete your externship. If this happens to you, please contact BPSS.
If you
wish to drop or perhaps be evaluated for continuation at another institution,
you may apply for a refund.
A choice
between these two options would be necessary.
Additional Information:
v
Transcript
Information: Any student wishing to
receive a transcript must complete a transcript request form. This form may be downloaded from the BPSS web
site, picked up at the BPSS New York City office, or mailed to the student (see
the BPSS contact information below).
Please note that only one copy of the transcript will be available.
v
New
York State Education Department (NYSED), Bureau of Proprietary School
Supervision (BPSS), contact information:
We
urge you to visit our web site periodically over the new few weeks for any
updates.
v
Records of Former Students: BPSS is attempting to secure the records of CTI students, both
current and previous. This has become
complicated as CTI was evicted from the building on May 9. The records will be
scanned for future storage and availability.
We ask that you visit our web site and download a request for records
under Information for Students. You may
mail this form to the address shown on the form. We ask your patience as we sort this out as
CTI had thousands of students over the years.
It will take some time.
We wish
you well and regret that you have been subjected to this unfortunate situation.
Sincerely,
The Staff
of the New York State Education Department, Bureau of