January 23, 2025
Holly Eichhorst
Manager of Institutional Review and Development
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
RE: Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, and NASCAR Technical Institute
Dear Holly Eichhorst,
Three locations of Universal Technical Institute are on the list of renewal applicants to be considered by ACCSC at the February 2025 meeting: Universal Technical Institute in Lisle, IL; Universal Technical Institute – Miramar in Miramar, FL; and Universal Technical Institute Northeast in Bloomfield, NJ. We write to you to bring to your attention information we have received from a former employee and from student veterans who have attended Universal Technical Institute and its related brands, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, which ACCSC describes as a Division of Universal Technical Institute, and NASCAR Technical Institute. The nature of the complaints suggests system-wide issues across the school brands. We urge ACCSC to consider the complaint information below as you investigate Universal Technical Institute’s compliance with accreditation standards.
I. Student Veteran Complaints
Veterans Education Success has received 17 complaints from student veterans attending Universal Technical Institute or Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, 14 of which have been received since 2020. These complaints cover many topics, including the mishandling of student loans, the quality of education received, misrepresentations made in the recruiting process and during the program, and the availability of jobs after graduation or the salary that could be earned. Here are some examples of the complaints we have received:
- “Ads for school made it sound better than what it is, they promised half hands on/half classroom. Turned out to be 10% hands on/90% online. Also was just informed they have been taking loans out in peoples names without permission, so I would like for that to be looked into as well. They told the teachers to stop answering questions and to instead respond to questions with, “did you watch the videos?” Or “watch your videos” to push their online class agenda. If I wanted to learn from watching videos I wouldn’t have wasted my time coming here.”
- “I went to MMI (motorcycle mechanics institute) which is under Universal Technical Institute. I was misled about my loans and the financing. At various times thru my training, I was taken out of class for extended durations and told that I needed more funding. I was persuaded on the spot to fill out the necessary documents to receive funding in order to get back to class in a timely fashion. I feel I was taken advantage of.”
In addition, seven of these complaints allege veterans were made to complete an additional three hours of in-person class time each day, compared to non-veteran students. This raises substantial questions about the value of the class-time instruction because non-veteran students were not even required to attend. A former employee corroborated the veterans, explaining that this was to address a VA approval issue and also occurred at NASCAR Technical Institute. Some of these complaints are provided here:
- “I am attending UTI at the Lisle campus as a veteran student. The normal students are on campus for 3.5 hours a day and are allowed to complete online coursework at any time before the deadline. Veteran students are on campus for 6 hours and are only allowed to do online coursework during the study hall from 1120 to 1400 Monday through Friday excluding holidays. This interferes with our ability to complete coursework in a timely manner and achieve the best grades possible. The extended day also interferes with our day to day lives and ability to have reasonable hours of work.”
- “I am an army veteran and I’m currently enrolled at universal technical institute, located in lisle Illinois. They [ ] restricted the veterans from the ability to finish our work given to us as homework/work done on your own, less time than given the regular student who isn’t a veteran[ ] that attends that school. All the veterans are experiencing this issue.”
- “Instructors at UTI lisle, IL are treating veterans terrible. They are forcing us to use hall passes and are consistently yelling at us for little things as if we are still in the military. They are cursing at us and telling our fellow classmates information about our grades. Instructors are losing graded work and are not giving us credit for bonus points. We are forced to stay here 3 hours longer than other students. They are also submitting paper work late into the VA. They are constantly disrespecting students and punishing them for simple things like leaving to use the bathroom. Our campus needs work. Help us please we are being discriminated against.”
II. Former Employee Complaint
Approximately three years ago, we received information from a former employee of NASCAR Technical Institute, which is also accredited by ACCSC. The employee raised serious concerns about the legitimacy of the program. The employee said the school was “basically ‘rubber stamping’ students to get their completion rates.” The employee said the NASCAR name was used to bait students, but, in reality, students need connections to land a NASCAR job, and the few who get a NASCAR job work in low-level positions that don’t justify the program cost. Instead, students can enter the dealership track, but according to the employee, students don’t need to attend school at all to work at a dealership. Also according to the employee, the instructors did not all have experience in the courses they were teaching, and the school reduced operating costs by using subpar recorded sessions in order to need fewer instructors.
III. Department of Veterans Affairs Complaints
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ GI Bill Comparison Tool shows student complaints about Universal Technical Institute and Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in the most recent 24 months. Two of the complaints are about the Lisle, IL, campus. The type of complaints student veterans submitted include the following: financial concern, quality of education, refund issues, recruiting/marketing practices, accreditation, student loans, transfer of credits, post-graduation job opportunities, and other.
IV. ACCSC Accreditation Standards
We urge ACCSC to review Universal Technical Institute’s compliance with ACCSC’s standards at the three campuses under review and across the system of brands and campuses. Specifically, the school’s compliance with the below Substantive Standards warrants review by ACCSC:
- Section II, A2 and 3: The school has an established process for the design and development of appropriate education and training programs, and ensures that appropriate elements are included in the program curriculum….The program length is aligned with the program objectives and neither too short nor too long in relation to those objectives….
- Section II, A4(a) and (b): The school has a systematic and evidence-based program evaluation process for each occupational program or each group of related occupational programs… The school’s program evaluation process is comprehensive, conducted by faculty and educational administrators regularly, and uses input from internal and external sources…
- Section III, B: 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 teaching technical and occupationally related courses in either non-degree or occupational associate degree programs must have a minimum of three years of related practical work experience in the subject area(s) taught.
- Section IV, A2: 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.
- Section IV, A4: 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.
- Section IV, A8: 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….
Similar complaints across brands and campuses suggest that there may be system-wide concerns. The schools may be providing a substantial amount of meaningless class time and faculty who are not teaching the necessary skills and materials, although the schools reportedly market themselves as providing hands-on training leading to jobs. Before considering the pending application for renewal, we urge the Commission to require Universal Technical Institute to demonstrate its compliance with all of ACCSC’s Standards, especially Standards II, III, and IV regarding program length and design, recruiting practices, and educational services.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments, and we appreciate your careful consideration.
Sincerely,
Della M. Justice
Vice President for Legal Affairs
Allison Muth
Senior Attorney