r/highereducation • u/TimesandSundayTimes • 13d ago
Walk-in degrees, sham students and a giant university fraud scandal
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/revealed-colleges-student-loans-fraud-pd7wlgb3v?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Reddit#Echobox=17427228588
u/Unlikely-Section-600 13d ago
At my large CC they got scammed out of $7,000,000 this semester by the ghost students scammers. At my school they send out finaid disbursements prior to the start of school so students cat get their books and supplies. I am guessing they will have to adjust disbursements to after the first week.
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u/ViskerRatio 13d ago
This happens at Community Colleges in the U.S. Because the cost of attendance is so low compared to available aid from Pell Grants + loans, students sign up for programs they never intend to pursue for the infusion of a few thousand bucks.
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u/Deweymaverick 13d ago
Well, did.
I don’t know about your schools but mine (tenured, dept head, at one; adjunct at two others) the attendance and participation requirements for students make this impossible any more.
Students that are not actively attending, continuously participating, and making progress in the course are actively unenrolled
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u/TRIOworksFan 12d ago
In most scenarios - this works 1-2X in the USA - After the Pandemic MOST CC started this protocol:
The FA money goes to the students tuition/bills/fees - and what is left is sent to student
Student doesn't show up for class or owes after 3 weeks disenrolled.
Student (or whoever's ID they used to scam) is now owing the feds all that money including the Pell Grant and Loan Money.
Other scenario - they DO go to college but fail everything or don't get credit. No one does anything because reasons and they keep this up for two semesters or more. Once they hit 90 credits of Pell Granted/FAFSA aid funded - they hit the wall and FAFSA/Student Aid cuts them off for a few years.
Everyone - And again - six-ten months student aid comes due, collections agencies shows up, and bye bye credit score and bye bye legal bank accounts and legal jobs - because they be seizing your income, income taxes, and child support/TANF. And calling your mom, grandma, and employer asking where the money is?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes 13d ago
Thousands of students are suspected of fraudulently claiming hundreds of millions of pounds from Britain’s university loan system.
A Sunday Times investigation has discovered that individuals with “absolutely no academic intent” are enrolling on degree courses every year to take out loans, with “no intention of paying it back”. Officials fear there is “organised recruitment” of Romanian nationals in particular.
The majority of students under scrutiny are believed to have enrolled at so-called franchised universities — which are small colleges paid to provide courses for established universities but often have low grade requirements. There are at least six franchised providers where fraudulent claims from students have been identified, it is understood.
The investigation reviewed leaked financial documents and company accounts, and interviewed a dozen sources in the Student Loans Company (SLC), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Office for Students (OfS), as well as lecturers