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STATEMENT: Department of Education Must Protect Students Following Collapse of For-profit Education Company 2U
Bankruptcy follows increasing pressure after students sued USC for misleading them about its online master’s degree program run by 2U, and USC subsequently severed its long-term relationship with 2U
University of Southern California social work students just sued the school | Business Insider
Last week, the Project on Predatory Student Lending filed a lawsuit on behalf of three graduates of USC's online Master of Social Work program, accusing the school of falsely advertising the online program and claiming it had the same offerings as USC's in-person program on campus, charging the same $100,000 tuition for both of the programs.
USC graduates sue over online social work program, alleging false advertising | Higher Ed Dive
The Project on Predatory Student Lending, which specializes in claims involving former students of for-profit colleges, is representing the plaintiffs. Its president and director, Eileen Connor, described the university’s online social work program as “an expensive diploma mill.”
USC peddled inferior online social work grad program to use as 'cash cow,' lawsuit alleges | LA Times
“I felt hurt that a university like USC — very prestigious, well-known — would knowingly use deceitful recruitment tactics to target students going into a profession that is meant to help communities that are oftentimes marginalized,” said Luna, who graduated in May 2021.
University of Southern California sued over online 'diploma mill' programs | USA Today
“USC used its brand to deliberately deceive unsuspecting students to create a ‘cash cow’ through its inferior online MSW program at students’ expense,” said Eileen Connor, president and director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which is helping to represent the plaintiffs, in a statement.
Lawsuit Says University of Southern California Used Misleading Practices to Sell Online Social-Work Degree | Wall Street Journal
The Project on Predatory Student Lending has sued for-profit colleges such as ITT Technical Institute and Corinthian Colleges in the past. This is its first case against a traditional nonprofit institution, said Eileen Connor, president.
Social Work Graduate Students Sue USC Over Online MSW “Diploma Mill”
Graduates of the University of Southern California’s (USC) online Master of Social Work (MSW) program filed a class action lawsuit against USC for misrepresentation, false advertising, and other deceptive, unfair and unlawful business practices.