Corinthian Colleges
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Corinthian Colleges *
Corinthian Colleges was a network of for-profit universities that was founded in 1995 when the National Education Center, a Santa Ana-based sold off its chain of underperforming private colleges.
David G. Moore and a group of other investors bought up the schools, and less than ten years later, Corinthian Colleges had become one of the country’s biggest for-profit post-secondary school operators.
Nearly a quarter of its campuses were based in California, more than any other state. And by 2003, Moore’s initial investment of $100,000 had become worth more than $100 million.
Corinthians portfolio of schools included Everest College, Heald College, and WyoTech—colleges that offered career-oriented degrees in fields like healthcare, criminal justice, and information technology.
Corinthian’s schools made a point of their high job placement rates to prospective students. Especially in light of the fact that tuition at Corinthian could be more than five times the cost of similar programs at public universities.
But, those high job placement rates weren’t real. And Corinthian knew that in many cases, its students wouldn’t be able to afford to repay predatory loans it encouraged them to take out to cover tuition.
And on top of all this, Corinthian’s schools marketed themselves to vulnerable populations:
single parents, the homeless, and those living close to the poverty line.
In Corinthian’s own words, their ideal custome is “stuck,” has “low self-esteem,” and “few people in their life who care about them.”
In October of 2013, Attorney General Kamala Harris filed suit against Corinthian Colleges with the goal of ending their abusive practices once and for all. Months after the suit, Corinthian closed all of its schools in California. A month after that, the company filed for bankruptcy. In early 2016, Harris’s office won a billion dollar judgment against Corinthian Colleges.
Kamala’s Team
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