New York City warns residents to be wary of shady for-profit schools in new public service ads. The campaign is called “Know Before You Enroll.” A lot of the tips they suggest echo the suggestions from our post about how to identify reputable online institutions. The Gotham Gazette reports:

“Unfortunately, difficult economic times sometimes draw out those who would take advantage of vulnerable New Yorkers,” said Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz.

Those vulnerable populations include low-income communities where language or literacy barriers obscure the processes associated with enrolling in school, Mintz said.

That is what happened to Garvin, a 26-year-old Brooklyn resident who attended a two-year Associate’s degree program that advertised on television. Only after completing that degree, to the tune of $25,000, did Garvin find out that his credits wouldn’t transfer to the City University of New York, where he planned to finish his undergraduate education. To obtain his bachelor’s degree, Garvin would have to start college all over again.

via City Warns Against For-Profit Adult Education Scams (Gotham Gazette, Jan 2012).

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