Three claims debunked by Federal Trade Commission

What did the FTC say? h Sollers had no basis for the high graduation claims. Its own data suggested the placement rate for Life Sciences graduates was as low as 52%.

h Sollers counted students who didn’t communicate with it after graduation as employed.

h Many of the partner businesses had no such relationship with the school. Some sent cease-and-desist letters demanding that their name and logo be removed from the school’s website.

The FTC said Sollers encouraged students to pay for their education using an “income-share agreement” in which they agreed to pay the school a percentage of their future income on a monthly basis, typically10% to 20% for two years; some ended up paying for as long as six years.

Agreements failed to include the Holder Rule notice that advises consumers who take out certain kinds of loans about their rights to assert claims and defenses, even against third parties that acquire the loans.

Sollers sold some of the loans and turned others over to third-party debt collectors.

In addition to having to reform its practices, the settlement with the FTC requires Sollers to forgive outstanding debts, repurchase and forgive debts it sold, and ask credit reporting agencies to delete them from consumers’ credit reports.

US education department scorecard can help consumers

The FTC says that public or nonprofit schools are usually accredited, not owned by anyone, offer many different majors, and mainly want to help students learn. For-profit schools are sometimes accredited, owned by a person or business, often focus on a few areas of study, and want to make money for their owners.

Whether it’s accredited or not, check out the school, including with the BBB and online using terms like “complaints,” “scam” and “reviews.”

Use the Department of Education’s College Scorecard to find out average debt and student borrowers’ default rates at schools you’re considering.

Check out the school’s reputation with potential employers or schools you may want to transfer credits to. Be wary of high-pressure recruitment tactics and vague answers to your questions.

Randy Hutchinson is president & CEO of Better Business Bureau of the Mid-south.