Ridley-Lowell students 'heartbroken,' worried in wake of closure

Zaneta Walker purchased her cap and gown on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old Poughkeepsie resident and single mom was excited. Her graduation ceremony from Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute was coming up in June, and her young son couldn't wait to accompany her across the stage.

The excitement ended later that day, when Walker learned of Ridley-Lowell's abrupt closure.

CLOSED: Ridley-Lowell closure caused by 'severe' challenges

ABRUPT: Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute 'permanently closed'

HELP: What students can do when for-profit colleges close

The business, technical and trade school, which had two City of Poughkeepsie locations, permanently closed due to "severe financial and operational challenges," according to a Wednesday notice from its president, Terry Weymouth.

The challenges, Weymouth said, came in the wake of the U.S. Department of Education withdrawing its recognition of Ridley-Lowell accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

The federal department withdrew its recognition of ACICS accreditation in 2016. The decision is under review again after a recent court decision. Ridley-Lowell is still listed as accredited on the U.S. Education Department's website.

"I'm just in shock that all of this has even happened," said Walker, who finished a medical assistant program last August. "I'm very upset. There are a lot of people who are heartbroken."

A few of them gathered outside of the Ridley-Lowell S. Hamilton Street location Thursday morning to talk strategy.

Some students just found out about the closure when they showed up and saw the sign in the door, Walker said.

Joan Coleman of Kingston has only finished nine months of a year-long medical assistant program.

"Not only is it a financial burden, but now we've gone to school for nine months and we have nothing to show for it," Coleman said.

Students need a certain amount of hours for each class in order to progress to the next, according to Coleman. So she said there are no credits she would be able to transfer elsewhere.

Mike Brown, a former Ridley-Lowell medical assistant instructor, says the certificates and licenses students and graduates earn are still going to be valid, no matter what happens to the school.

"It's validated by the AAMA (American Association of Medical Assistants) which is the group that oversees the medical assistants," Brown said.

Brown is trying to set up a graduation ceremony for disappointed students. He contacted the Poughkeepsie City School District — the upcoming commencement was set to take place at the high school — or the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, which has hosted the ceremony in the past.

He's also planned tutoring sessions for medical assistant students who still need to take their exams.

Gena Beairsto of Wappingers Falls finished a six-month medical billing and coding specialist program in September. She attended on a scholarship, which she "had to fight for...tooth and nail."

When she applied for a state job three months ago, Beairsto said the state agency informed her that New York was no longer recognizing Ridley-Lowell as an accredited institution.

"Some of these students paid the money and can't even finish their degree," Beairsto said. "I was able to finish but there is no graduation. The paper (license/certification) is not worth what it's printed on."

Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison called the school's sudden closure — "apparently without notice to its students, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders" — very unfortunate.

The city has "begun conversations within our community in an effort to provide help and assistance to effected students at this time," Rolison said.

After discussion with the state Education Department Bureau of Proprietary Services, the mayor says students are advised (by the state) to fill out a complaint form available at City Hall and online at http://www.acces.nysed.gov/bpss/student-rights.

Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518, Twitter: @pojonschutzman