To simplify, someone could take a free GED prep course and pay less than $100 to sit for the GED or they could pay Stratford almost $700 to receive a completion certificate that the FTC and many employers consider worthless.
FTC Charges Against Stratford Career Institute
According to the FTC, Stratford Career Institute used deceptive marketing practices to convince people to enroll into their high school program. Stratford was ordered by the federal court to explain to students how they could cancel their enrollment, stop making false claims about their programs, and disclose to potential students interested in the high school program what it took several clicks for me to find out: potential employers and many states won’t accept it as an equivalent to the GED.
The checks mailed out by the FTC totaled more than $216,000. The judgment from the federal court fined Stratford $6.5 million. Only $250,000 of the judgment will be paid by Stratford unless they are found to have lied to the court about their financial condition.
