Wright Career College
 Former location in Overland Park | |
| Type | Private, for-profit |
|---|---|
| Active | 1921–2016 |
| President | N/A |
| Location | |
Wright Career College (Overland Park, Kansas) was a career-oriented school that operated from 1921 until 2016. It was originally named Dickinson's Business School.[1] The school offered two-year associate degree programs and certificates in healthcare, veterinary, fitness, business, accounting, and other related fields.[2]
The school was founded in 1921 to train typists for Kansas City businesses and a secretarial program was added in 1953. A shorthand system was developed that became widely accepted in the Kansas City area.[3] Joseph Bryan Dickinson published a book under the title of Dickinson Shorthand in 1928.[4]
James Miller, Jr. gained a controlling interest in the school in 1989 and he re-named it first as "Wright Business College." He later changed it to "Wright Career College." The college was reported to have contracted with for-profit corporations owned by the college’s trustees. Wright paid $14 million between 2007 and 2013 to the Miller-owned corporation Media Resources Inc. for advertising expenses. An additional $2.6 million was paid directly to the couple as salaries during the same period.[5] In 2013, hundreds of students filed a lawsuit with accusations of "a systematic, deceptive marketing scheme" and sought a refund of the students' tuition plus unspecified damages.[6]
In April of 2016, over a thousand students and 200 staff members at five campus locations were affected when the school closed its doors. All students were notified by email on a Thursday evening that the school would not be open the next day.[7] Many students of the school have worked to file a class-action lawsuits to seek refunds for tuition.[8]
References
- ^ Stafford, Diane (April 15, 2016). "Wright Career College files for bankruptcy". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ "Wright Career College". School & College Listings. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ "Wright Career College". Alumnus.net. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Vol. New Series Volume 25 for the year 1928. Washington, DC: United States Library of Congress. 1928. p. 692. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Mattes, Margaret; Shireman, Robert (November 14, 2017). "Was Wright Wrong?". The Century Foundation. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Augustine, Martin (April 15, 2017). "Wright Career College closes doors". KMBC-TV 9. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "Wright Career College closes its doors". KETV-7 (Omaha, NE). April 15, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ Williams, Mara Rose (July 5, 2019). "Graduates of closed Kansas college suing Betsy DeVos for millions in loan debt relief". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 16, 2020.