Comment Archives: stories: Blogs: Slag Heap
Re: “Landmark Forest Hills pizza shop shuttered -- UPDATED”
It a shame! The whole situation is a shame! You would think 2 adult business partners could work this out before comming to this!!!! Closing Vincent Pizza park!!! One thing it did! Showed his loyal customers, that they actually could do with out Vinny's pizza if they have to!!Poor Vincent! He is probally turning over in his grave right now!!!!! He workrd hard and a long time to have a successful business! Who would have thought! How popular it would have become! People from out of town came looking for Vincent's Pizza that they heard about! Vinny's hard work, long hours and sweat which showed on his face behind the counter finally paid off only to have it now shut down and closed!!!!
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
Dear Tod Todd,
Just taking note of those treasured memories. Remember when our stock was above $30.00 and solid before your got caught and now even homeless people can buy tons of it? Remember back when we had them all fooled, before all of our personal, political, and corporate shame was hung out for the world to see? Remember when Bishop Romney was going to save us all from collapse and prison?
Todd Todd, do you remember when it was so much fun to scare the immortal out of those recruiters and make them con the disadvantaged kids? Remember when Federal dollars were burning up the wires into our pockets and Goldman Sachs' accounts? Do you remember how many of those highly talented and promising Art Institutes faculty we tossed under the bus and how we laughed when their hopeful students wrote petitions and even tried to sue us?
Remember when we could get instructors who faked credentials and who showed up drunk in class at Argosy and Brown Mackie? That was almost as much fun as lying to the Department of Education, right?
Remember when Pittsburgh and Phoenix were not ashamed to have us office in their cities?
Ah, the good old days. Almost as good as digging up gold tablets on a hillside somewhere.
Well Todd Todd, I guess that John John and I will be seeing a lot of each other at the defense table. Looks like even Amy will be there.
Yes Todd Todd it is a new year.
Re: “EDMC to employees: No layoffs, but no raises either”
Olympia Madoff Nelson,
Your response is completely accurate. I am one of those whose life they literally distroyed.
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
If EDMC does not lie pathologically, why do they show that they have 158,000 students on all of their releases (you know Jacqueline Muller) when they only have 108,000????? If their enrollment is dropping why does Todd Nelson and his gaggle of ass wipes plan to hawk his failing stock on BMO Capital Markets webcast?? The answer is that they lie, because they do not know what else to do and they are there to sell stock, not to offer educations. You know like Bain Capital was there to build communities (choke).
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
All I have to say about this is.....they suckered my daughter and myself into a debt that I will be dead before I get it paid off. They took advantage of many low-income parents(which I am one) and run credit reports to see just how much they could get out of us. I saw one thing on paper at AI and when I got my 1st payment slips I almost fainted!! They had borrowed 30,000.00 the 1st year my daughter was at AI Atlanta!!! I had no idea. My daughter transferred to AI Nashville and quit after the winter quarter. She said they taught her nothing and promised her the moon. So the guilty ones who did all the promising deserve to lose their jobs but so do all in the Admid. they are all a bunch of liars. So I'll spend the next 10 yrs paying for what she could have learned at a Community College and gotten a Masters!!! They promise jobs these kids will never get just to milk the Federal Gov. for all the monies they can get out of low income parents. I learned my less alittle to late. So BEWARE of all AI schools. FYI AI Pitt. has been blowing up my phone all day......wonder why?
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
EDMC is toast. The atmosphere among amployees is so grim, people are wishing to be laid off (to get severance and qualify for unemployment). 90% of the staff are unhappy, an this year's layoffs and no-raise announcement didn't help. Add to that the turmoil among leadership, and it's no wonder why upper management is stressed and taking it out on middle management. Middle management is then treating their staff like crap. The only people who are happy are those who are in with the "buddy" crowd. You know what I'm talking about... favoritism, which leads to unequal treatment o those not in the buddy crowd.
Re: “More EDMC layoffs reported”
I actually attend the Art Institute of Washington now and most of the professors here just got laid off this wednesday. Its a shame because we pay so much money for an education that we did not realize was false from the beginning. According to staff here, they are laying of professors who teach full time and actually care for the students and replacing them with those who can work part time with no benefits.
In the graphic design department this is the second time this year that they have done layoffs. Those who are higher up claim that, because of a merger program, to combine the graphic design and the web design program, explains why they had to lay off so many outstanding professor, but we all know that were getting scammed because they want to pay less money while we pay more. This is ridiculous to me. I have three quarters until I graduate and I feel that this school is extremely unstable. Every student here can vouch for this too.
They make it so hard to graduate. We spend more money, and go ahead try and leave cause your credits are barely transferible. If I where to this all again I would never in my life go to this school and you can take that to the bank.
Re: “EDMC to employees: No layoffs, but no raises either”
Given that they just announced another round of layoffs today Thursday 8.23.12, the old "low water mark" has yet to be reached. The public statement read that the layoffs will keep tuition costs down. EDMC tuition is 400% of a competitive state school education. Of course most competitive school executives are not taking home $40 million per year.
Somebody else bogged here that morale in general at EDMC is so bad that even the HR people no longer care. These statements from Jacquelyn Muller have been so juvenile and defensive for so long that it is very possible that the place just goes through the mechanics of public relations. Ten years ago I thought that Todd Nelson and crew were just liars. Listening to their conference calls was good entertainment. Then I began to believe that Nelson and crew actually thought that the American business community were stupid. However as Meredith Whitney has said of the likes of EDMCs' board and executives, before 2008 we knew they were evil. Now we know that they are also stupid!
It is very possible that these bottom feeders actually believe that by cutting a few hundred thousand dollars in salaries they can actually lower the $300/400 per hour tuition that they charge 122,000 students. They are for certain very stupid to make announcements containing explanations that not even one of their students would believe.
Seriously there is not an ounce of honor in any of them. They will lay off workers whose families likely depend on that income. They are laying these workers off because they created a legal and ethical nightmare that will take the American economy and education system decades to recoup. These are not the heroes of industry who take pay cuts--these are the cutthroats of industry who will throw any employee under the bus, hurt the employees' family and community, leave the employee with a job history that may actually hurt the employee, embarrass the country, rob taxpayers, then fly out to Salt Lake City on a corporate jet to make a quiet but enormous political donation to the candidates most likely to perpetuate a corrupt business environment.
Re: “EDMC to employees: No layoffs, but no raises either”
largest layoffs to date started.
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
Nothing has changed at EDMC after all of the bad press about recruiting practices -- enrolling homeless people, criminals, disabled vets, crazy people, mentally challenged, and welfare moms. But before admissions was only enrolling these people so they could get paid more money. Right??? The matrix is over and admssions recruiters are enrolling these same people telling them lies so they will start school because they are afraid of losing their jobs. It is just as intense as it was before if not worse. I just do not get it. They have admsiions going out and getting their own leads at guess what?? Admissions is setting up shop at the bad parts of town --outside of stores and at the homeless shelters. When will EDMC learn.
Re: “EDMC Downplays Talk of Layoffs”
EDMC is the "firing-est" company I have ever worked for. Every month, new layoffs, new firings, new "re-alignments" are announced. From the day I first started working there (about five years ago), the recurrent threat was, "Do this or you'll be fired" ... even before there was any thought by anyone not to do "this."
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
LAYOFFS TODAY in the Art Institutes - Chicago campus is shedding many faculty and lower lever admin. Employees told today and official announcements (email) tomorrow.
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
Face it Nelson, West, and McKernan are an incredible find for defense lawyers. They fired a teacher for not being willing to hustle needless textbooks for them ("Teacher Fired for Refusing to Sell Unnecessary Books: Democratic Underground.com). I'll bet pizza to pastrami that they would never even think of using one of those "graduates" from their practice in California only law school. Nelsons' fees alone probably has funded half a dozen houses in the Bahamas for the type of lawyer that would defend him.
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
Hey Sad Employee! I couldn't agree more. Sometimes I think Nelson is so used to buying his own deception that he can't tell reality when it hits him over the head. What makes this fool think that people who couldn't pass or take SAT, ACT, and GRE exams and have inferior academic backgrounds last year would suddenly become insightful and disciplined consumers this year. West, McKernan, and Nelson are fundamentally greedy and liars they don't have the credibility to turn anything around let alone clean up this mess. The dance is over.
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
Seriously? Nelson thinks that the enrollment numbers are down just because students are afraid of debt? Why are some other school succeeding just fine then? The reason enrollment is down is because he came on board. The atmosphere was AMAZING at EDMC three years ago. Employees loved to work there! Students wanted to go there because of the front line employees. The atmosphere changed and made everyone HATE being there and then.... SURPRISE!... enrollment dropped. No student wants to be on the phone with an unhappy employee. Most people can't fake being happy, nor should they be asked to. Todd Nelson needs to pull his head out of his a$$ and figure out how he can make his employees happy again? A few ideas... where did the awards for customer service go? (Most people are fueled by praise), where did the cookouts go? (Almost everyone is motivated by food!), and HEY what about a freaking Holiday/Christmas party??? Only company I have ever worked for that doesn't do this. Sorry for the vent but if I didn't need the money desperately or love my students so much then I would not be working here anymore.
Re: “EDMC to employees: No layoffs, but no raises either”
No one is getting raises so the people only making 33,000 are screwed but the big wigs that already make over 100,000 will be just fine. Why not save money and cut a lot of the higher paid people's wages, especially since they are just running the school into the freakin ground anyway? Why should they get paid more? Morons...
Re: “Miles jury finds for officers on one claim; deadlocks on more serious claims of abuse, false arrest”
The only reason the racist jury refused to rule on the other claims is because they would have had to rule in favor of a black young man. They rather have a hung jury than do that freaking bigots.
Re: “EDMC reports revenues, enrollment down on heels of more layoffs”
I do not think EDMC will exist in a few years. I really don't. They are selling a very high priced product that does not produce an ROI that is sustainable.
Their current tuition for their most popular BS program, graphic design, is $93,000. Yet, the graduate with BS degrees in design actually make LESS than those with an associates degree in design. http://www.artinstitutes.edu/CareerServices/Employers/career_stats/aip.pdf
Why any student would go to this school is beyond me. The more cost effective way would be to earn an associates degree at 10% of the EDMC cost, and transfer those credits to a real school for a BS degree. Going this route, a student could get away with 20K in debt maximum (if they worked) and have an actual degree to help them get a job.
Here is why EDMC is destined to fail:
1. Their recruiters don't care anymore. Without being paid more to recruit more students, there is little incentive for them to go above and beyond to get the students enrolled. And deep down, they know they are selling fraud, so it's not really in their hearts anymore. I have actually seen this first hand. I expect recruitment levels to continue to drop in all schools.
2. Students now realize that loans are not the answer. They will still seek quality education, but many of them now know a graphic design degree at EDMC is just not worth it. Sure, a few grads get gigs, but in graphic design, talent rules, and they would have gotten the gig anyways with any degree.
3. EDMC cannot raise tuition. In most cases when sales decline, a business can raise prices to make up for lost revenue. In EDMC's case, they can't. They are maxed out on what their tuition is, and cannot charge any more. When enrollment drops 20%, revenue will drop 20% as well. And their margins are not strong enough to make up for this hit, as they are now bleeding cash.
4. No one that works there cares anymore. They know deep down the game is up. From the PR person to the recruiter, they are just buying time until a real job comes along. Regretfully, an EDMC stint on a resume is just as bad as an EDMC degree. After layoffs all year, wage freezes, and the reality your business just dropped by 20% tends to make for a highly disengaged workforce.
5. Social Media - EDMC cannot hide behind a wall of PR cronies anymore. People know. Every one of those unemployed underemployed graduates with 100K in debt is pissed, and they are telling everyone they can about the real value of an EDMC degree.
While I hate to see any Pittsburgh company lose jobs, this is one that cannot be turned around. It was run into the ground by greedy executives who wanted to get more and more out of it, but in turn, ran it into the ground.
Re: “Miles case in jurors' hands as plaintiff's attorney makes final argument,”
haven't we reached the no peace phase of the no justice no peace continuum?
self-important piece of dogshit snitch bram reichbaum said let the courts decide. what a surprising result that brought
Re: “EDMC fights on in court, Congress”
So now it is the SEC that is investigating
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/sec-investigating-education-management-corp-680438/
A NEW DOJ inquiry! TODAY!!!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/did-for-profit-college-ed_b_2930603.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics
New Parties have joined the discrimination suit
http://triblive.com/news/2964218-74/jones-complaints-discrimination-edmc-institute-policy-admissions-art-claims-employees
EDMC the Brown Eye of the Democratic Senate Proposal
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/news-ticker/2013/mar/04/for-profit-education-stocks-hit-on-legislation-fea/
I guess they will keep on trying,