http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-for-profit-schools-20100622,0,7976025,full.story
Here is a crushing article describing a recent class action lawsuit that former students have filed against their school. It turns out that the school in which these students were able to achieve financial aid and internships has made promises that were inaccurate to its abilities. These angered students are now in debt and out the time they invested in their new future.
I feel that the last paragraph that writer Cynthia Dizikes paints is the most somber.
Here is a clip:
Staring at a couple of withered Mother's Day balloons on a recent evening, Parnell blinked back tears. She has begun the search for a certified nursing assistant program, but after spending the last two months waking up at 4 a.m. to get to her externship by 7 a.m., she said she doesn't want to lose more time with her one-year-old son.
"There was this window of time," Parnell said. "And I feel like I got nowhere."
Although I would not want to be in Parnell's situation, I feel that the writer of the article does a fine job drawing the reader in to the scene. I can see the half-inflated balloons as Parnell discusses her path ahead. I almost wanted to shout out 'Injustice!" after completing the article. I'm now engaged, and I'll keep reading future articles to follow the story.
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the article from a journalism standpoint, as frustrated as I now am at knowing students are being swindled.
The piece does a good job at focusing in on a person at the center of the embroilment, moving on to the facts and by its end circling back to that same person. A good example of what we discussed last night about zooming in and out of a story in order to make it relatable to readers.
However, the one thing lacking in this piece is whether or not the school is working on getting appropriate accreditation. It's a young program and if it were me caught up in similar circumstances, it might lessen the (as you say, and I agree) "injustice" of it all to know that an attempt is being made to extend to future students a chance at getting an education in line with nursing school standards.
I know someone who found himself in a similar situation a few years ago. The school informed him of their intention to have their curriculum approved by the appropriate parties - and that they were at the time in active pursuit of the goal, but as a member of the first graduating class, his diploma was essentially worthless.
Since the article did not mention whether or not it will try to offer more to its students in the future, I can only assume it is because there is no such intention. I wish it was explicitly stated...
Thanks for sharing.
Jen Richman
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying. Fro me, I walked away (ha- or blinked away) from the article feeling as if the school had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.
From there, I assumed that the school would back away slowly and try to close the doors. After all,
how can you publicly make a name for yourself if you've already been caught duping students?
I felt that the author eludes for students to becoming more informed of their choices before signing on the dotted line. And, potentially suggesting a founding (or more PRESENT)information sources directed to first-time students. Thanks for your input, Jen.