Does anyone have any idea what it takes for a school or program to qualify for financial aid for students? I know that 20 years ago I saw a piece on 60 Minutes about a school somewhere in South Florida who was going out and recruiting winos and homeless people for vocational training and applying for and receiving federal financial aid on their behalf without their ever attending any classes. If I remember correctly the "school" was nothing more than about 300 Square feet of leased office space with a phone line.  Are the requirements more stringent today are is there still a lot of abuse in the system? The reason I ask is because I have often thought of starting a vocational training program for various building trades and marketing it as an alternative to traditional trade schools.  Delivering this type of education online seems like an ideal fit and from what research I have conducted it isn't readily available. If it is possible to develop a curriculum that would be eligible for student loans and GI Bill benefits this could be lucrative business and could provide people who simply do not like classrooms but are otherwise interested in learning a trade or skill an alternative to existing modes of learning.

GermanDawg:

Does anyone have any idea what it takes for a school or program to qualify for financial aid for students?

Generally the way is for a school to become accredited by one of the organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and then to jump through whatever additional hoops are set in place by Uncle Sam.  It's non-trivial.

I know that 20 years ago I saw a piece on 60 Minutes about a school somewhere in South Florida who was going out and recruiting winos and homeless people for vocational training and applying for and receiving federal financial aid on their behalf without their ever attending any classes. If I remember correctly the "school" was nothing more than about 300 Square feet of leased office space with a phone line.  Are the requirements more stringent today are is there still a lot of abuse in the system?

They tightened things up significantly a while back.  Although I used to live in South Florida and that sounds so... Floridian.

-=Steve=-

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B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress

I agree with Steve, pulling a scam like that these days would be tough and sadly it would even be tough for a sincere and legit startup school to secure Title IV status.