VIC School Went Bankrupt and Won't Give Credits - What to Do?

[Ruuko]

The school I went to went bankrupt before completing the course. I paid out of pocket over $3000, I expect to not see any refund and am chasing a certificate of attainment for credit for the units complete. The school said they won't give credit because the teachers did not record any of the units I completed.

What can I do?

 

[Rod]

If you have not made a formal request in writing, then do so now. Don't delay, do it before whatever records they have do disappear. Also talk to the administrator about this.

You may have a cause of action against the directors for improper record keeping and this is separate to the issue of bankruptcy. Didn't you get completion results/records as individual units were completed?

Start compiling your own list of units with the information you have.

 

[Tim W]

Presumably it wasn't a school.
Rather, it was a commercial ("private") VET provider?

 

[Ruuko]

It was an RTO or registered training organization. Sorry I thought I had replaced school with RTO but it must not have saved.

I do have some paperwork from completing units and the liquidation company have the rest. I had completed about 50% of the units.

 

[Rod]

What are you expecting if you already have paperwork?

 

[Ruuko]

Sorry, the liquidation company said that the VQRA (Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority) will issue SOA's (Statement of attainments). The VQRA said that they can't give SOA's because the data they received from the company says I have not completed any units even though I have some papers proving that I have, meaning the staff did not update the database with completion info as they were supposed to.

The papers that the liquidation company have are my assessments that show that I have completed the work for other units.

What do I need to do to try to get money back?

 

[Rod]

re: Money. All you can do is make sure you are listed as a creditor with the liquidator. You then wait and wait for the liquidator to suck out as much money as he can, sorry, properly investigate all matters as thoroughly as possible using all available means, and after 1 or 2 years at a minimum, you'll get a report that will probably show you'll get less than 10c in the dollar, if anything at all.

Your best hope is to get credit for the work you have completed so you can use that at a new school. Start talking to new schools and see what they can do for you and what they will accept as proof of completion and then you work towards getting what the new school wants.

Messy situation and it may not end well for you. Make sure your new school is a well established and reputable school (most TAFEs are good). There have been many new schools created in the last few years with the sole aim of making money regardless of educational outcomes for their clients (students).

Personally, I'd be wary of schools established by owners recently arrived from certain parts of Asia and the sub-continent seeking easy access to government funding that has lax monitoring. Something similar happened with the batts insulation scheme a few years ago. Companies quickly sprang up, got government funding, did a poor job, and disappeared.

Rinse and repeat in a different industry, this time education.

Find a TAFE offering the course you want. Good luck.

 

[Ruuko]

Thank you.