The U.S. Department of Education has announced a settlement with Baker College following an investigation by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). The Michigan-based institution will pay a $2.5 million fine due to violations of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and related regulations.

According to FSA, Baker College misrepresented its graduates' job placement rates and potential salaries, which could mislead students relying on the college's website and marketing materials. The investigation revealed that Baker falsely claimed higher job placement rates and salaries than were accurate.

FSA found that for nearly five years, Baker published misleading "career outcomes rates" on its websites. These figures suggested all graduates were included in the data without disclosing how many students responded to surveys. In reality, these rates represented fewer graduates than implied. Additionally, emails from Baker advertised high career outcomes rates without defining what constituted a "career outcome," leaving out that unpaid options like continuing education were included.

Baker also listed employers on its website as having hired its graduates; however, FSA discovered that some employers had hired individuals before they enrolled at Baker. This created a false impression regarding the impact of a Baker degree on employment decisions.

Further findings showed that Baker misrepresented graduate earnings by using national data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics instead of actual data from its own graduates.

Moreover, Baker failed to accurately calculate and report employment rates for its culinary programs as required by accreditation standards, publishing inflated figures between 16 and 60 percentage points higher than accurate data.

These actions led FSA to conclude that substantial misrepresentations occurred, potentially harming students who relied on this information when considering their educational options. As part of the settlement, Baker agreed not only to pay the fine but also committed to making no further misrepresentations. The college will provide copies of all marketing materials to FSA for review over three years and inform current students and employees about submitting complaints or information regarding misconduct.

This settlement highlights the Department's commitment to enforcing higher education laws and protecting both students and taxpayers. As part of these efforts, FSA publishes enforcement bulletins warning institutions about potential violations similar to those committed by Baker College.

More details about these enforcement efforts can be found on StudentAid.gov.