(WFSB) - The I-Team is looking into career schools, schools that provide training for specific jobs like nursing or cosmetology.

How do you make sure you’re picking the right school, and that the school is following the law?

The I-Team started looking into this issue after Stone Academy abruptly shut down last year, leaving hundreds of students in limbo.

For Jay Cullipher, becoming a nurse took longer than he anticipated. What was supposed to be a 17 month program at Stone Academy, turned into a 4 year ordeal.

Before Stone Academy suddenly shut down in February, Cullipher said there were signs.

”Teachers were quitting and then the admin was quitting and we started seeing this revolving door,” says Cullipher. “I had gone to about 15 different clinical sites, we were being let home early. We were asking questions like ‘how are we going to get our hours’”?

Still, he says the sudden closure of Stone came as a shock, but Cullipher thinks it shouldn’t have, because he believes the state could have been more transparent.

“The state came in, started investigating the school. What we later found out was, there were multiple violations cited and stone academy was still enrolling nursing classes,” says Cullipher.

In order to operate in Connecticut, career schools must be approved or authorized by the Office of higher education.

A new school is inspected before it can open, after that, a renewal inspection is done every year for the first 4 years.

The state reviews the course catalog, policies as well as staff credentials and financial records.

Established schools are reviewed every few years, for re-authorization, says Sean Seepersad.

He’s division director of academic affairs for the state office of higher education.

”It really depends. More established schools may have a longer window between times they need to be renewed and newer schools would have a shorter window,” says Seepersad.

WHAT DO THE REVIEWS SHOW?

The I-Team requested reviews for all career schools in Connecticut going back two years.

There were 76 reviews. There are 84 in the state. In several cases, the state found schools missing student transcripts and attendance records.

Other schools were told to update refund policies and course catalogs because they were inconsistent.

Others were told to get insurance. Schools are required to fix these issues to continue operating in the state, or in the case of a new school, begin operating.

But we only know the above issues were found, because we asked, an average student would have no way to know.

We asked the Office of Higher Education if they would consider posting these reviews online.

Seepersad said, “the office hasn’t currently considered that. If something comes up where the school isn’t meeting a standard, then they are not going to get renewed. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure the school gets up to standard.”

Learning what a school is or isn’t doing, can help those looking to pick the right career school.

If you’re considering a career school, first, make sure the school is approved or authorized by the state.

Some schools are also accredited by outside agencies.

You can check that online on the OHE website HERE and a school should have their certificate of approval on display.

”They should visit the school and ask about the program. If possible, if they could see what it’s like and sit in a class, see if it appeals to them or not,” says Seepersad.

You also want to ask the school for their enrollment agreement, which must have information about tuition refunds and cancellation policies, as well as their course catalog.

”Review their catalog to see exactly what the catalog will outline, what’s supposed to be entailed in the program itself,” says Seepersad.

Another big thing potential students should ask about: job placement and student pass rates.

In Stone’s case, pass rates ranged from 43% to 70%. Nursing programs are required to have a pass rate of 80%.

For the first time, the state is sending out student surveys, looking for students to tell them more about how schools are operating. Information you have a right to.

“They can also contact our office, to find out recently, have there been student complaints about the school,” says Seepersad. (More OHE tips can be found here ).

It’s all information Cullipher wishes he’d had before attending Stone Academy.

“Anything that has to do with the education a student is receiving should be transparent. Even if it’s good or bad,” says Cullipher.

Cullipher is now a practicing licensed nurse, he’d had enough credits when Stone closed but needed to pass his boards before getting his license.

But other Stone classmates are still waiting, Cullipher hopes their stories will encourage the state to be more open with students.

Currently there are two lawsuits related to Stone Academy going through the court system.

Sean Seepersad is one of the people being sued by Stone Academy students in a federal class-action lawsuit over how the state managed the fallout.

That case is currently ongoing.

Cullipher came up with his own list of questions he thinks you should be asking while shopping around for career schools.

Ask questions about pass rates and student to teacher ratios.

Ask about accreditation.

Ask whether classes are credit based or hour based and what credit will or won’t transfer if you change schools.

Cross check with the Board of Nursing and DPH and OHE for complaints or current issues.

Look for trends in the student reviews.

Tour the facility, take note of student engagement, and equipment in the labs.

Find out where they do clinicals and ask those agencies what their experience is with the school.

Talk to current students.