January 23, 2025
Holly Eichhorst
Manager of Institutional Review and Development
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
RE: Full Sail University
Dear Holly Eichhorst,
Full Sail University is on the list of renewal applicants to be considered by ACCSC at the February 2025 meeting. We write to you to bring to your attention information we have received from student veterans who have attended Full Sail. In light of the concerns raised by student veterans and Full Sail’s previous warning status with ACCSC, discussed below, we urge the Commission to thoroughly review student complaint information and the school’s practices related to student achievement prior to making a determination regarding the application for renewal.
I. Full Sail University’s Previous Warning Status
On March 1, 2022, ACCSC placed Full Sail on warning status and further directed Full Sail to cease enrollment in four programs and to cap enrollment in a fifth program. ACCSC’s letter explained that “the length of time the school has been subject to monitoring and the growing number of programs falling below benchmark rates . . . raised the question as to whether Full Sail’s management is able to develop institutional policies, practices, and monitoring mechanisms that support successful student achievement across the array of the school’s program areas.” Additionally, ACCSC said it had questions “regarding some employment classifications,” pointing to instances where Full Sail’s classification of a graduate’s job did not appear “appropriate and reasonable” to ACCSC. ACCSC also requested information about Full Sail’s “reverse transfer policy,” which appeared to result in some students graduating “only days or weeks after starting the programs.”
While the warning status was removed by mid-January 2023, there does not appear to be publicly available information explaining how Full Sail resolved the issues raised by ACCSC. Such serious concerns warrant additional review by the Commission prior to making a determination regarding the school’s application for renewal.
II. Student Veteran Complaints
Further, we have received 95 complaints from student veterans who attended Full Sail. These complaints cover a variety of topics, including misrepresentations in the recruiting process, shockingly high costs, accreditation issues, problems getting jobs or promised earnings after graduation, and surprise fees or debts.
The following are some excerpts of the student veteran complaints we have received about Full Sail:
- “There has been a minimum of three mistakes from Full Sail during the last 12 months. two have already affected my pay and caused me significant hardship. Now, the VA is telling me that FS made the same mistake a third time. I asked for clarification via email over 10 days ago and haven’t heard back.”
- “I enrolled in Full Sail’s Game Design program. I received an Associate’s Degree but left before completing my Bachelor’s due to the quality of the education. Going into the program, I expected the degree would lead to job opportunities, but I was wrong. Much of the curriculum was so out-dated it might as well have been from the Stone Age. We were initially taught using the Unity and Visual Studios systems. Later, when the courses switched to modern programs, like C++, Unreal, and Blueprint, they did nothing to teach us how to use them. Eventually, I learned that the gaming industry does not recognize “Game Design” as a legitimate degree because it is too broad. Full Sail felt like such a scam school. I often was better off learning through tutoring, Google searches, and YouTube videos than I was following the actual instruction from its online courses. To make matters worse, the terminology and policies changed drastically from one class to another, creating confusion and hampering the learning experience. It was difficult to learn basic concepts and build upon them effectively.”
- “I turned in some assignments completely blank and still received an A+ and a generic great job! It was clear that some of the instructors did not know enough to teach the classes. They just taught from a powerpoint and regurgitated what was on the powerpoint. I knew I was not learning enough and I wanted direction, but they would not give any instruction or feedback.”
- “The school promised to have job placement which was a lie. The only thing they did was help me with my resume. I moved back to Arkansas and got a job in live concert on production and didnt make enough to pay this loan back and never did make the kind of money that I needed to make to pay on my loans. When I was out of a job I reached out to them for job placement which was of no use and on top of that a lot of companies laughed at me when I told them I went to Full Sail and what a rip off it was.”
- “The instructor would either spend the time on unrelated topics or tell us the general idea of what we need to research ON OUR OWN TIME. Homework became a problem as it did not align with what was being taught in class. In fact, I spent a whole semester as the “Student-Instructor”, teaching what was supposed to be the topic of the class, as the instructor was incompetent… I feel defrauded in this cash-grab, and although I have a GPA of 3.9, I cannot land a single interview as my skills are misaligned with company needs. I am in need of retraining to meet these needs, and as Full Sail University has carelessly squandered my educational benefits, I lack the luxury of doing so.”
III. Department of Veterans Affairs Complaints
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ GI Bill Comparison Tool shows 12 student complaints about Full Sail University in the most recent 24 months. The types of complaints student veterans submitted include the following: 5 about financial concern, 5 about quality of education, 3 about refund issues, 7 about recruiting/marketing practices, 3 about accreditation, 1 about change in degree plan/requirements, 1 about student loans, 2 about grade policy, 2 about transfer of credits, 3 about post-graduation job opportunities, 2 about release of transcripts, and 6 on other topics.
IV. ACCSC Accreditation Standards
The student veteran complaints raise questions about Full Sail University’s compliance with ACCSC’s Substantive Standards regarding educational quality, financial aid practices, and recruitment practices, including:
- Section I, D—Tuition, Cancellation, Refund, and Payment Policies
- Section II—Program Requirements, including program design and development, program evaluation, and instructional materials and equipment.
- Section III—Educational Administration and Faculty Qualifications, including: Faculty members must have appropriate qualifications and be able to teach in a manner that permits announced educational objectives to be achieved. All faculty must be able to demonstrate a command of theory and practice, contemporary knowledge, and continuing study in their field….Faculty members must have received training in instructional methods and teaching skills or be experienced teachers.
- Section IV — Student Recruitment, Advertising, and Disclosures, including:
- A.2: A school’s recruitment efforts describe the school to prospective students fully and accurately and follow practices that permit prospective students to make informed and considered enrollment decisions without undue pressure.
- A.4: A school has and enforces an acceptable code of conduct for all school personnel whose primary responsibilities are to engage in recruiting and admissions functions prior to and during admission and matriculation.
- A.8: A school has in place policies and procedures and takes reasonable steps to ensure that its personnel do not make false, exaggerated, or misleading statements about the school….
- Section VII— Student Learning, Assessment, Progress and Achievement, including:
- A.1(c): Student learning outcomes for each program reflect the necessary occupational and academic knowledge, skills, and competencies as applicable.
- B.1: Student Achievement: The school assesses educational quality, institutional effectiveness, and student achievement taking into account the rates at which students graduate from each training program, attain employment in a training related field, and pass licensure/certification exams required for employment, as well as other factors that are reasonably related to student achievement.
- B.2(b): The school demonstrates successful student achievement by: Maintaining acceptable rates of student graduation and employment in the career field for which the school provided education….
Based on ACCSC’s history of concerns about Full Sail University and the issues raised by student veterans, a thorough review must be conducted to ensure that Full Sail is meeting all of ACCSC’s standards, particularly: Standards II and III, relating to program design and faculty qualifications; Standard IV’s requirements that the school truthfully, fully, and accurately inform prospective students; and Standard VII’s expectations for monitoring and demonstrating student achievement in graduation and employment. We appreciate your careful consideration of our comments.
Sincerely,
Della M. Justice
Vice President for Legal Affairs
Allison Muth
Senior Attorney