SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Some students are accusing for-profit colleges in the United States of fraud after finding out their credits were not recognized.
Chelsi Miller, 26, was accepted into the University of Utah's pre-med program but was told her courses at Everest College, a national for-profit institution with a campus in Salt Lake City, wouldn't count toward her bachelor's degree, USA Today reported. That left her with an associate's degree she says did nothing for her and more than $30,000 in loan debt.
Miller says Everest misled her when it suggested her credits would transfer and misrepresented what it would cost her. Last week she filed a class-action suit with two other students accusing Corinthian Colleges, Everest's owner, of fraud.
Her claim, denied by Corinthian, is the latest action raising questions about for-profit colleges, whose enrollments have soared 225 percent in 10 years.
Federal student loans and grants make up an average 77 percent of revenue at the five largest for-profits, according to figures cited by USA Today.
The Education Department has proposed penalizing for-profits whose students graduate with more debt than they can afford.
