Major new revelations of Pat Toomey’s involvement in the shady, now defunct, for-profit Yorktown University came to light in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“According to financial filings, Yorktown was launched in 2001 as an alternative to traditional colleges, which organizers believed promoted ideologies such as communism, feminism and ‘radical egalitarianism,’” reports the Post-Gazette. “Although many instructors boasted solid academic credentials on subjects including constitutional law, some lectured on topics such as the dangers of political correctness.”
“One free 2012 lecture, for example, warned ‘your daughter will change her appearance and may even change her sexual orientation’ if she takes women’s studies.”
Yorktown, which Toomey invested in and once served on the board, was first reported by TIME on Monday to have problems with its “lack of accreditation, questionable academic offerings and marketing to veterans who can receive government tuition aid.” The Toomey campaign claimed the Senator “made a small contribution and lent his name to the organization, but that was the extent of his minimal involvement.”
That’s a lie, according to the founder and president of Yorktown, whom the Post-Gazette interviewed for their story. “‘I think [Mr. Toomey] invested $5,000 of his own money,’ said Yorktown president Richard Bishirjian. The school sent ‘endorsement postcards’ featuring Mr. Toomey to potential investors, he said, until Mr. Toomey resigned prior to his 2010 Senate run.”
Bishirjian also admitted that after 15 years of being in business, Yorktown (conveniently for Toomey’s re-election) ceased operations just last week.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: For-profit schools latest topic for Toomey-McGinty squabbling
By Chris Potter – June 24, 2016
A different kind of college rivalry is breaking out in the race for U.S. Senate. Democrat Katie McGinty is challenging incumbent Pat Toomey for supporting a bill to roll back regulations opposed by for-profit colleges — and for his ties to Yorktown University, an online educator that drew little notice until this week.
“Senator Toomey needs immediately to divest the money he has invested in Yorktown University and rescind his support for legislation that would help shady for-profit colleges,” Ms. McGinty said this week, referring to Mr. Toomey’s co-sponsorship of Senate Bill 559.
That Republican-backed bill would overturn regulations including a “gainful employment” rule, enacted by the Obama administration, which pulls federal financial aid from for-profit schools where student debt dramatically outpaces post-graduation earnings.
… The exchange follows an online Time magazine report Monday on Republican ties to for-profit schools, especially Mr. Toomey’s connections to Yorktown.
According to financial filings, Yorktown was launched in 2001 as an alternative to traditional colleges, which organizers believed promoted ideologies such as communism, feminism and “radical egalitarianism.” Founders included Paul Weyrich, an arch-conservative who established groups such as the Heritage Foundation. Although many instructors boasted solid academic credentials on subjects including constitutional law, some lectured on topics such as the dangers of political correctness.
One free 2012 lecture, for example, warned “your daughter will change her appearance and may even change her sexual orientation” if she takes women’s studies.
Mr. Toomey served on the board between 2007-2009, a period when he headed the Club for Growth, an influential conservative organization.
“I think [Mr. Toomey] invested $5,000 of his own money,” said Yorktown president Richard Bishirjian. The school sent “endorsement postcards” featuring Mr. Toomey to potential investors, he said, until Mr. Toomey resigned prior to his 2010 Senate run.
For-profit schools have been a flashpoint in the debate over rising student loan debt. State attorneys general and others have accused the schools of using deceptive sales pitches, leaving students with massive debt without the job training needed to pay it off.
The “gainful employment” rule was meant to address that concern. SB 559’s attempt to roll it back has been opposed by nearly 50 groups, including the NAACP, veterans groups, and unions representing teachers and others.
But SB 559 would also de-fang regulations affecting not-for-profit educators. Such rules, argued a 2015 letter from the American Council on Education, would “fail to achieve their intended outcomes, yet impose significant costs and burdens.” ACE represents schools across Pennsylvania and the nation. “Does McGinty support these institutions?” asked Toomey spokesman Ted Kwong. “Or does she stand with Obama’s heavy-headed Department of Education?”
“It’s not the entire bill that we’re talking about,” scoffed Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesman Preston Maddock. “It’s the provision giving for-profit schools license to be even more predatory.”
… Yorktown continued offering courses on a non-credit basis, but Mr. Bishirjian said it shut down entirely last week, after it was unable to make a credit payment.
“Our closing had nothing to do with the Senate race,” he said, though he wasn’t surprised Yorktown had become a campaign issue. “If I were McGinty, I would do the same thing. But it’s just politics.”
Read the full article here.