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August 3, 2009
Jobless grad sues college
Rick Moran
No doubt a lot of college grads will be looking carefully at what happens to this suit.
The premise is simple; Monroe College of New York made an implied promise that Trina Thompson would find gainful employment after completing her course work and receiving her degree. In fact, the placement office at the school boasts of offering lifetime assistance to grads.
Trina paid $70 thousand to the school, graduating in April with a degree in Information Technology, and has been unable to secure work in her field. Now, according to this New York Post piece by Katherine Bonniello, she's suing the school:
The 27-year-old alleges the business-oriented Bronx school hasn't lived up to its end of the bargain, and has not done enough to find her a job.
The information-technology student blames Monroe's Office of Career Advancement for not providing her with the leads and career advice it promised.
"They have not tried hard enough to help me," the frustrated Bronx resident wrote about the school in her lawsuit.
"She's angry," said Thompson's mother, Carol. "She's very angry at her situation. She put all her faith in them, and so did I. They're not making an effort.
"She's finally finished [with school], and I'm so proud of her. She just wants a job."
The mother and daughter live together, but are struggling to get by. Carol, a substitute teacher, has been the only breadwinner.
"This is not the way we want to live our life," the mom said. "This is not what we planned."
As if being unemployed weren't enough, Trina's student loans are coming due, saddling the family with more debt, the mom said.
"We're going to be homeless, and we'll still have a student loan to pay," Carol said.
Monroe insists it helps graduates in their careers.
"The lawsuit is completely without merit," school spokesman Gary Axelbank said. "The college prides itself on the excellent career-development support that we provide to each of our students, and this case does not deserve further consideration."
There are probably thousands of students in Trina's boat. If a judge allows the lawsuit to proceed, expect a wave of legal actions taken against these technical schools who advertise heavily on TV, promising to change your life if you only fork over tens of thousands of dollars.
Of course, the economy is bad and entry level slots are few at this point. But Thompson is suing because she doesn't think the placement office is doing its job.
Can you blame her?
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