Charlotte School of Law offers cash-strapped students $1,000 loans

After a professor at struggling Charlotte School of Law began a food bank for students, the school has stepped in – offering emergency $1,000 loans to those still enrolled.

School President Chidi Ogene announced the interest-free money on Sunday. Students still enrolled in the school as of Friday are eligible to receive it.

The loans become due in about a year, though Ogene says the repayment date is negotiable. The president said students could get the money as soon as Thursday if they apply by Tuesday.

The financial problems for the law school and its students have been deepening for more than month. Citing the school’s chronic failings in admissions, curriculum and bar exam passage rates, the U.S. Department of Education expelled Charlotte School of Law from its student-loan program in December. The school says it is fighting that decision.

Agency officials and the American Bar Association, which has placed the school on probation, accuse Ogene and Dean Jay Conison of hiding the school’s problems from current and future students. In response, students have filed at least four lawsuits, accusing Charlotte School of Law and its corporate owners of deception and fraud.

Last year, the school’s students received almost $50 million from the loan program for tuition, books and living expenses. The loss of that money has threatened the future of the for-profit school while setting off an enrollment exodus. Tuition and living expenses total about $60,000 a year.

On Friday, assistant professor Scott Sigman announced that he had started a food bank for needy students and has begun accepting donations (https://www.gofundme.com/csl-students-living-expenses).

After missing several of its own deadlines, the school has promised to release a list of financial alternatives to the lost loan money by Tuesday.

Given Charlotte’s cost of living, the amount of the school’s loan will not go far in paying student expenses.

As of September, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte was $925; for a two-bedroom, $1,036.

“One thousand dollars will leave you with $10 after paying average rent in Charlotte,” said third-year student Margaret Kocaj, who owns a business and who has received student loans in the past. But she acknowledges that she is in better financial condition than many of her classmates.

“So that’s 10 Ramen noodle packs for food for the month. And I hope our students have blankets and candles.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Charlotte School of Law offers cash-strapped students $1,000 loans."