School a ‘Rip-Off,’ Pupils Say : * Vocational education: Students paid up to $1,000 for nursing assistant course that costs $45 elsewhere.

Francisca Bojorquez wanted to learn how to care for her ailing mother-in-law. Catalina Perez just wanted to escape the drudgery of her low-paying factory job.

So the two women were among 200 people who signed up earlier this year for what they thought was a state-approved nursing assistant class at a downtown Los Angeles trade school, which promised them help in landing $9.50-an-hour jobs after the course was completed.

However, the class offered by Instituto Norte Americano turned out to be a nightmare, the students said. It was taught by instructors not approved by the state, despite advertisements to the contrary. Most of the 50 hours of classroom instruction were so poor that the students could not qualify for the promised jobs. The classes were taught in English, a language not understood by the vast majority of students, who were recent arrivals in this country.

Some students complained that they spent nearly $1,000 for a course offered elsewhere for as little as $45.

“They just ripped us off,” Bojorquez said.

The complaints in recent months drew the attention of two state agencies, the Department of Health Services and the Council of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, which certify courses like the one offered by the trade school.

Because of the use of unqualified instructors and the continued promotion of the course as state-approved when it was not, the two agencies in late May revoked state certification of the course. They also ordered refunds for the total cost of the course.

The school, however, was allowed to offer other courses, including English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

Officials at Instituto Norte Americano did not respond to repeated requests seeking comment. But a former lawyer for the trade school, Harold Greenberg, said that refunds sought by many of the 200 disgruntled former students had not yet been made.

“People like this just prey on the aspirations of people who want a better way of life,” said Elena H. Ackel, an attorney for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles who handled many of the students’ complaints.

Complaints about trade and vocational schools taking advantage of disadvantaged and immigrant students has been on the rise throughout California in recent years, according to the state attorney general’s office. Recently, it estimated that it was investigating cases involving as many as 100,000 vocational and trade school students.

Lawmakers in Sacramento have adopted more stringent regulations governing how these schools operate and place students in paying jobs. But some critics said that has not stopped schools such as Instituto Norte Americano from taking advantage of unsuspecting students.

In January, state authorities inspected Instituto Norte Americano, located on a dead-end street in the shadow of the Harbor Freeway.

At the time, the certified nursing program offered at the school was placed on probation because it was using unqualified instructors. That led to the state’s revocation of approval in May when school officials failed to satisfy state requirements.

“(The Department of Health Services) has made every effort to accommodate your school and has allowed an inordinate amount of time for you to come into compliance,” Kristina Smith, chief of the department’s Office of Certification, wrote earlier this month. “You have failed to comply.”

Students like Francisca Bojorquez knew little of the school’s troubles when she learned of the school through an advertisement in La Opinion, Los Angeles’ leading Spanish-language newspaper. Because her mother-in-law needed extensive nursing care that would undoubtedly prove to be costly, Bojorquez decided to sign up for the Instituto Norte Americano course.

Others also found the school attractive because of its Saturday and after-work classes, which did not interfere with their jobs. Also, the school advertised heavily in the Spanish-language media.

Bojorquez paid $650 for the course offered on a Saturday, normally a day off from her job as a shipping clerk. But she said her eagerness to learn quickly turned to angry disappointment as the costs mounted.

“I had to pay for two uniforms (and) white nylon stockings, which school officials said we had to wear in class,” said Bojorquez, a native of Los Angeles. “But the teachers never wore any kind of uniforms.”

Some students said they were forced to pay for a “graduation meal of $35” by school officials.

“I ended up paying more than $1,000 for the class,” Bojorquez said.

According to state officials, the same class is offered as an adult education course at night by the Los Angeles Unified School District for as little as $45.

When Bojorquez and other students completed their required classroom instruction in June, they learned their instruction was worthless, since the state revoked its approval of the course.

Catalina Perez and others told of similar troubles.

“I just wanted to get away from my factory job and make more money,” Perez said, “but the class was worthless.”

An immigrant from El Salvador, Perez complained about the poor conditions at the school. At times, she said, the air conditioning in the classroom failed, forcing instructors to take off their shirts while they insisted that the students, mostly women, continue to wear the required nurse’s uniforms.

Perhaps most galling to the students has been the slowness with which Instituto Norte Americano officials have made refunds to students who asked for them.

The state has repeatedly told school officials to make refunds but it is unclear how much has been repaid to the students.

While he still represented the trade school, attorney Greenberg said that the school was doing its best to reach students and make refunds. In an interview in early summer, he estimated that the school refunded about $36,000.

When asked about it last week, Greenberg, who emphasized that he was no longer connected with the school, said many of the refunds had not been made.

That came as no surprise to Ackel of the Legal Aid Foundation.

“The students (I know) still have not been paid,” she said. “The students come into my office every day and two or three call on the phone to ask.”