Career College of California’s CEO speaks out about why they shut their doors

We reported on Jan. 28 that Career College of California, which was located in DTSA, closed down. For whatever reason the mainstream media has completely ignored this story. And Career College has not issued a formal press release explaining why they shut their doors.

However Career College’s CEO, Caleb Everett, contacted me yesterday with more information about what they have done to help their students to move on to other schools.

Career College has posted an their website that they closed down because “their expenses were greater than their revenues.” Apparently they lost their funding as well and could not continue to stay in business.

Career College lasted 15 years before they went out of business. They claim that since 2010 nearly 900 people graduated from their school and over 80% of whom began promising careers in their fields of study.

Everett told me that Career College did not just shut their doors. Everett said that he personally addressed all of the students in person, provided each student with their records and introduced them to other schools with similar programs. He also said that he has been responding to requests for documents and continuing to work behind the scenes to help students make the best of a tough situation.

Everett also stated that community colleges are a great resource, but he also claimed that they have a dismal record of actually getting students to complete their programs (20% overall and only 1 in 10 who start in remedial courses) and don’t even track job placement rates.

Finally Everett said that Career College was trying to be the solution for the many people who drop out of community college every year – or who end up getting “substandard education from profit seeking corporations.” But Everett said that one of the big reasons for the failure of Career College was ” the assumption that all career colleges are bad promulgated by reporters who regurgitate popular opinion instead of doing their research.”

Everett is providing information on his website about where Career College students can transfer to and how to discharge their student loans.

So what do some of Career College’s students have to say about their school’s closure? Here are a few excerpts from Yelp:

• (Angelina P., Anaheim) Wow, what can I say. I started at this school back in October 2015 for their Business Admin course and today I receive a call saying they are shutting their doors and don’t show up for class. Talk about a punch in the gut. This school had all the courses I needed and wanted in one package. What’s really sad is alot of the students are very young adults trying to make something of their lives and their families and now this happens. Some only had 1 more course to complete and now they are left to start all over again. Word is the owners are the ones who decided to close the school. No explanation. Even the instructors didn’t find out till today. I hope all those who were trying to make something of themselves don’t give up and look to complete their paths. Best of luck to you.
• (Carly M., Garden Grove) DO NOT GO HERE….take it from a student, this school is crazy over priced for staff that doesn’t care an ounce about their students. i recieved a collections letter threatening to ruin my credit because THEY MESSED UP and did not file a payment I sent in. They miscalculated my hours, almost causing me to fail an entire class per their mistake. I chose this school because I thought the staff genuinely cared and I needed help. This school has been nothing but a waste of 2k per month for people that don’t care. I would NEVER RECCOMEND CCC.
• (Able A., Corona) DO NOT GO HERE….take it from a student, this school is crazy over priced for staff that doesn’t care an ounce about their students. i recieved a collections letter threatening to ruin my credit because THEY MESSED UP and did not file a payment I sent in. They miscalculated my hours, almost causing me to fail an entire class per their mistake. I chose this school because I thought the staff genuinely cared and I needed help. This school has been nothing but a waste of 2k per month for people that don’t care. I would NEVER RECCOMEND CCC.

Not everyone felt that way. There are a lot heartfelt goodbyes on Facebook.

Everett seems like a nice guy but the closure of his school is going to be a bitter pill for his students to swallow. And you can’t pin that on the media.  He dug his own hole. Personally I have no issue with the big for-profit schools. My degrees from the University of Phoenix and the Keller Graduate School of Management have served me well. I have also taught at Cerritos College for 12 years and can personally attest to the high quality education that our community colleges provide – at a very low cost.

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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