Cap & Gown
YEARBOOK
2016
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May 9, 2016
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who are graduating this
spring from Michigan
high schools in our
Cap & Gown Yearbook
2016. The Yearbook will
be published in our
May 26 issue.
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16 April 28 • 2016
metro »
continued from page 14
“students in Israel who were enrolled in
yeshivas and seminaries were studying
Jewish texts and rituals, and students in
the MJI online classes were studying the
same subjects, leading one to question why
any student would enroll in MJI other than
to obtain financial aid for their otherwise
ineligible Israeli program.”
The letter also outlines how 524 stu-
dents purportedly pursued computer-relat-
ed degrees yet failed to take a computer-
related class until they either completed
religious studies or withdrew from MJI
without taking any computer classes.
Because ACICS is not certified to accredit
religious studies programs, the letter says,
“MJI apparently led ACICS to believe that
some substantial component of its cur-
riculum consisted of technical education,
specifically computer and business degree
programs …”
In a mid-letter summary, the letter
stated, “Title IV funds are not available
for the benefit of institutions; they are
available for the benefit of students attend-
ing those institutions. Here, MJI created
a scheme with little or no regard for the
integrity of the Title IV programs, and the
Department, as steward of these funds,
must end MJI’s Title IV eligibility.”
In a painstaking manner, the DOE let-
ter outlines why it discards nearly all of
the school’s defenses outlined in its recent
appeals letter. The DOE had more than
100 boxes of files and other informa-
tion from MJI’s administrative offices in
Southfield to work with; federal agents
seized the information last July.
MJI’S RESPONSE
MJI, in a statement issued April 20, said,
“We are disappointed and saddened
with the Department’s overall decision
and regret the devastating affects it may
have on thousands of MJI students.”
In a statement exclusive to the Jewish
News, MJI attorney Peter S. Leyton said,
“MJI is presently finalizing teach-out
arrangements with four institutions, three
in Israel and one online institution outside
of Israel. Wherever possible, MJI is dili-
gently seeking to make arrangements for
these institutions to accept credits earned
at MJI toward their degrees or other cre-
dentials at the receiving institution and to
charge the students no more than what
MJI was charging.” MJI is reaching out to
students through email.
Leona Schwab of Manhattan contacted
the JN before Passover with concern for
her 18-year-old granddaughter learning at
a seminary in New Zealand on a Pell Grant
through MJI.
“I have called MJI two dozen times and
no one answers,” Schwab said. “Will the
students get their Pell Grants and what’s
left of them back? They need the grants
because college tuition is so expensive.”
According to Leyton, “Former MJI
students will likely be able to continue to
obtain Title IV funds provided the institu-
tion to which these MJI students transfer
or which conducts a teach out by agree-
ment is eligible to participate in the federal
student aid (Title IV) programs. Provided
they attend an Israeli institution, the stu-
dents may be able to receive funds under
Israeli-operated programs.
“MJI is seeking funds owed by the
Department [of Education],” Leyton con-
tinued. “There are Title IV funds which
MJI earned prior to Feb. 29, 2016, and to
which former MJI students are entitled
which have not been paid or released by
the Department. MJI legal counsel is dili-
gently working to get those monies paid as
soon as possible.”
When the DOE issued its Feb. 25 letter
denying recertification, Leyton’s statement
said, “Management felt it only right to free
up MJI employees so they could find other
work and not be held in suspense, pending
further DOE decisions.”
In similar fashion, MJI ensured that its
34 dual enrollment high school students
from nine Metro Detroit schools were able
to finish their Hebrew courses quickly.
One parent relayed that her son and other
students had to put in extra hours to do
so. MJI says it hopes to offer the program
again in the fall.
Meanwhile, MJI attorneys continue
to review the DOE letter. The school’s
general statement said, “We note that the
Department’s letter does leave the door
open for MJI to re-apply for Title IV, HEA
[Higher Education Act] program certifica-
tion in the future, and we are considering
that potential.”
In the meantime, the statement exclusive
to the JN said, “MJI is exploring the possi-
bilities of restructuring and retooling MJI’s
model of delivery and of upgrading MJI’s
administrative capabilities in short order
— all to determine if a new application as
permitted under the Department’s most
recent letter will serve the interests of MJI
students, current and future … It is also
important to note that DOE’s most recent
action can negatively impact accreditation.
“As we move forward, we continue
to keep foremost in mind that [MJI’s]
students are most often Torah-observant
young men and women who are socially
and economically disadvantaged.
Moreover, upon graduation, they possess
unique skill sets to step into key staff and
support roles in Jewish organizations in
Israel and cities around the globe.”
It is unclear whether the Michigan
Jewish Institute will face any civil or
criminal repercussions on the part of the
government because of its alleged actions.
MJI’s Leyton wrote in the statement: “We
are unaware of the status or future of any
IG [Inspector General] investigation, but
MJI will continue to cooperate as may be
required.”
*