Nouveau Riche University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nouveau Riche University

Established:	November, 2002
Type:	vocational school
President:	Jim Piccolo
Location:	AZ, USA
Website:	http://www.nruniversity.com

Nouveau Riche University is an unaccredited^[1] vocational school specializing in real estate investing. Class topics range from introductory real estate investing to advanced techniques such as creative real estate investing techniques including wholesaling, multi-units, and short sales; examples of course titles are "Fix & Flip" and "Creative Financing."^[1] The company claims revenues will top $80 million in 2007,^[2] and receives revenue from tuition, commissions on properties sold through affiliated company Investor Concierge, and fees from additional associated companies through sales of ancillary services to students.^[2] The company markets its courses through free seminars and through methods some have described as multi-level marketing, which the company states it does not use.^[1]

1 The School
2 History
3 Marketing Methods
4 Associated Companies
5 Controversy
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] The School

Nouveau Riche has taught thousands of students at classes in various locations around the United States.^[2] NRU currently offers 36 classes with 3 tuition packages ranging from $6,000 to $16,000 and a 15-volume residential real estate encyclopedia for $300 per month.^[3] In 2007 more than 9,000 people have attended Nouveau Riche University.^[4] and at a recent NRU College held in Phoenix, Arizona more than 2,200 students gave the instructors a 93 percent approval rating^[4]

According to CNET and Fortune Small Business Magazine, a typical tuition package is $16,000 for 2 years of real estate investment education.^[1]^[2] According to Your Business at Home Magazine, there are three tuition packages ranging between 30-120 instructional hours. Students have one year to redeem their purchased hours and may designate a partner to attended classes at no additional charge.^[5] Multiple six-day colleges are held throughout the year.^[6]^[5] Those who purchase the Regents package for $16,000 (currently 98 percent of all students) may repeat classes for an additional year and have access to streaming video classrooms for select courses.^[5]

The American Council on Education lists Nouveau Riche under the CREDIT program list of reviewed courses. The ACE (which is not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education^[7]) makes it clear that it is not accrediting universities; instead the ACE helps "adults obtain academic credit for formal courses taken outside college and university degree programs".^[8] The ACE claims several of the Nouveau Riche course sequences can be used for transfer credit at major universities. A full Nouveau Riche program provides one credit hour of transfer credit.^[8]

Even though Nouveau Riche is not accredited or affiliated with any institution of higher learning, in the past it used some symbolic university customs. For instance, Nouveau Riche formerly held a graduation ceremony, complete with cap, gown and an Honorary Doctorate Degree diploma after a 5-day symposium.^[9] The instructors were referred to as faculty, and management was called the chancellor^[2] and board of regents.

Classes are taught using the principles of instructional systems design, and have at times featured real-estate author and lecturer Dolf de Roos^[9]. According to Fortune Small Business, "the tests are sometimes self-graded, and the homework is optional."^[2]

[edit] History

Nouveau Riche was started in November 2002 by Jim and Mary Piccolo in Australia and New Zealand.^[10]. In December 2002, the corporate headquarters were established in Scottsdale, AZ. The name was changed to Nouveau Riche University in 2005 after review by the ACE, under management by Jim Piccolo and Bob Snyder.

Nouveau Riche University plans to build a campus in 2008 on a 24-acre site north of Phoenix that it recently purchased. The 140,000 square-foot campus is planned to have administrative buildings, glass-and-steel classrooms and luxury dorms linked by a man-made river.^[2]^[11]

Nouveau Riche University takes its name from the term Nouveau Riche, which refers to those with "New Money", or who made money within their own generation.

[edit] Marketing Methods

Courses are marketed through free seminars and through sales solicitations by current students, following a certification procedure. The one or two day seminars have a conversion rate of about 10% to paying students.^[2]

Signs and websites labeled "Real Estate Investor Seeks Apprentice" were used in the past to find new students for Nouveau Riche University,^[12] but the company has banned use of those signs as of January of 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Nouveau Riche University is described by some writers as using techniques of multi-level marketing to attract students,^[1]^[7] and that the commission for the first two sales by a student go to the student's "mentor" (who recruited the student), not the student. However, the company claims this is inaccurate and that it is not a multi-level marketing scheme.^[1]

[edit] Associated Companies

A number of companies are associated with Nouveau Riche University including 'Save Our Score' credit score specialists to help high-risk borrowers improve their credit-score for a fee^[2], 'Inc. It, Inc.' incorporation service, 'Number Won Accountants' accounting firm, and the 'NRC Mortgage' company.

Active students of Nouveau Riche University have exclusive access to the Investor Concierge, which is a web marketplace for investment properties that the website states can provide positive equity (i.e., sale price less than the appraisal value), and positive cash flow. The Investor Concierge typically sells students about 100 properties a month, most ranging in price from $100,000 to $200,000, many of which are located in Georgia, Michigan, and Texas.^[2]

[edit] Controversy

Nouveau Riche University is the subject of some controversy. Inside Tucson Business states that the students of Nouveau Riche University bear all the risk of investing, while the university collects non-refundable fees and commissions. Inside Tucson Business also claims that Nouveau Riche University is required by state law to be licensed by the Arizona State Board of Postsecondary Education, which it is not.^[7]

Fortune Small Business reports that the company's affiliated investment broker, Investor Concierge, markets properties as "positive cash flow", but the cash flow is often positive only because of temporary subsidies, putting the buyer at risk of negative cash flow after the subsidies expire.^[2]

Founder Jim Piccolo filed for bankruptcy in 1990.^[2] In 1991, he pled guilty to felony auto theft, which was reduced to a misdemeanor after three years probation.^[2] Piccolo says he and his wife own investment properties in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah and that Mary Piccolo manages the portfolio. Piccolo estimates its total value at $20 million. Despite his enthusiasm for real estate, Jim Piccolo states he has not bought any property lately.^[2]