Closure of Caliber Training Institute
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.
Ace Computer Training Center
Comp. Accounting Specialist, 900 hours
109-19 72nd Road, Suite 4F
Medical Billing & Coding,
108 hours
Forest Hills, NY 11375
Phlebotomy,
30 hours.
Contact: Amit Shorewala
Electrocardiography,
54 hours
(718) 575-3223
Ace Computer Training Center Same as Forest Hills
308-312 West 36th Street
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018
Allen School
Medical Assisting
163-18 Jamaica Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11432
Contact: Annette Luke
(718) 291-2200
Allen School
Same as Jamaica
188 Montague Street, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Contact: Lillian Mitchell
(718) 243-1700
Branford Hall Career Institute
Medical Assistant, 960 hours
565 Johnson Avenue
Bohemia, NY 11716
Contact: Dr. Kureshi
(631) 589-1222
Career Academy of New York
Medical Assistant, 900 hours
154 West 14th Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10011
Contact: Carrie Cassanelli, Michael Iannacone
(212) 675-6655
Career Institute of Health & Technology
Medical Assistant, 900 hours
340 Flatbush Avenue Extension
3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Contact: Yvonne O’Connor
(718) 422-1212
Career Institute of Health & Technology
Same as Brooklyn CIHT
200 Garden City Plaza
Suite 519
Garden City, NY 11530
Contact: Monifa Skelton
(516) 877-1225
Chubb Institute
Medical Assistant, 816 hours
498 Seventh Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Contact: Dorothy Finkel-Laverty, James Cruz
(212) 659-2116
Franklin Career Institute
Medical Assistant,1500 hours - (If student desires higher
certification than Caliber’s 900 hours) - Medical Billing, 100 hours -
Nurse Assistant,125 hours
91 North Franklin Street
Hempstead, NY 11550
Contact: Richard Crance
(516) 481-4444
Franklin Career Institute
Same as Hempstead
5325 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11220
Contact: Richard Levy
(718) 535-3333
Hunter Business School
Comp. Office Technology, 900 hours - Medical Assistant, 900 hours
3601
Hempstead Turnpike
Levittown, NY 11756
Contact: Olga Adams
(516) 796-1000
Hunter Business School
Same as Hempstead
3247 Route 112
Medford, NY 11763
Contact: Annette Jao
(631) 736-7360
New York School for Medical and Dental Assistants
Dental Assistant, 900 hours - Medical Assistant, 900 hours
33-10 Queens Boulevard
Long Island City, NY 11101
Contact: Douglas
Jordan
(718) 793-2330
Our Planet Management Inst.
Certified Nurse Aide, 125 hours - Phlebotomy Tech, 90 hours - EKG, 60 hours
116
John Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 11038
Contact: Juan Carlos
Nunez
(212) 269-4000
Sanford-Brown Institute
Medical Assistant, 900 hours - Medical Coding & Billing, 900 hours - Pharmacy
Technician, 720 hours
120 East 16th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10003
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 Direct Loan Servicing Center.
The phone number for the Direct Loan Servicing Center is 1-800-848-0979. The web link for the Servicing Center is:
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:
- 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.
- New York State Education Department (NYSED), Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS), contact information:
116 West 32nd Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10001, (212) 643-4760 and web address: www.acces.nysed.gov/bpss.
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 Proprietary School Supervision