Premier Education Group
Premier Education Group | |
---|---|
Type |
Private Vocational |
Location | East Haven, Connecticut |
Website | premiereducationgroup.com |
The Premier Education Group (PEG) is a privately held company that operates vocational education institutions in the northeastern United States. Programs offered by PEG institutions vary by location but include massage therapy, medical assisting, health claims specialist, paralegal, and computer information technology.
Premier is based in East Haven, Connecticut.[1] The company was started in 1965, when it established its first school.[2]
Institutions
Premier operates programs at 26 locations under nine institutional names:
- Branford Hall Career Institute has locations in Branford, Southington and Windsor; Springfield, Massachusetts; Albany, Bohemia, New York, and Amityville, New York; Woodland Park, New Jersey, Jersey City, New Jersey, North Brunswick, New Jersey, and Parsippany, New Jersey.[3]
- Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turner's Falls, Massachusetts, was acquired by Premier after the bankruptcy of its previous owner.[4]
- Harris School of Business has locations in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Premier opened the school in New Jersey in 2007 following the closure of Harrison Career Institute. The name was selected for its similarity to the name of the closed institution.[2] Harris School of Business has locations in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Linwood, New Jersey, Hamilton, New Jersey, Voorhees, New Jersey, Wilmington, Delaware, Dover, Delaware, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, and Danbury, Connecticut.
- The Harris-Casel Institute is located in Melbourne, Florida.
- Salter College has two locations in Massachusetts, Chicopee, Massachusetts and West Boylston, Massachusetts (Worcester area). Premier acquired it in 2002 and oversaw its transition from a certificate-only trade school to an accredited two-year college.[5]
- Salter School is located in Malden, Massachusetts, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, Fall River, Massachusetts, and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
- Salter School of Nursing & Allied Health is located in Manchester, New Hampshire.
- Seacoast Career Schools, in Sanford, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire, was acquired by Premier in 2001.[6]
- American College for Medical Careers is located in Orlando, Florida.
Controversy
Premier Education Group has faced allegations of fraudulently misrepresenting school accreditations and certifications, and of unprofessional academic practices.[7][1] A federal lawsuit by seven former employees charges that school officials routinely misled students about their career prospects, and falsified records to enroll them and keep them enrolled, so that they could continue to get government grant and loan dollars.A principal owner of Premier was Andrew N. Yao, who was convicted of fraud and served time in federal prison.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brian Ianieri (March 24, 2011), "Thirty-seven former students sue Harris School of Business in Linwood over accreditations", Press of Atlantic City
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "What's New in Princeton & Central New Jersey?", U.S. 1 Newspaper (princetoninfo.com), February 28, 2007, retrieved March 21, 2012
- ↑ http://www.branfordhall.edu/Locations/30/
- ↑ Walker, David (October 19, 2010), "$3.6M in Debt, Photo School President Faces Fraud Charges", PDN Photo District News, retrieved March 21, 2012
- ↑ Eileen Kennedy (June 18, 2008), "Salter Takes Stock After First Year As 2-Year College", Worcester Business Journal
- ↑ Seacoast Career Schools holds Fall Commencement (press release), New Hampshire: Fosters.com (publisher of Foster's Daily Democrat), November 8, 2010, retrieved March 21, 2012
- ↑ Fry, Chris (March 18, 2011). "Business School Was a Rip, 37 Students Say." Courthouse News Service. Accessed October 2011.
- ↑ Federal Lawsuit Accuses For-Profit Schools of Fraud By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, New York Times, Feb. 19, 2014