Chicago School Of Professional Psychology Sued, Students Call It Diploma Mill

Parents often try to sway students away from "useless" (read: less-than-lucrative) majors. Students at the Los Angeles campus of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCS) don't need parental guidance, though -- they're taking care of their own matters.

Forty students there filed a lawsuit Tuesday. They seek more than $30 million in damages from the school because they don't believe their degrees are worth enough.

According to a copy of the suit, obtained by the Sacramento Bee, the students claim they were led to believe the school was a satellite institution from Chicago, only in a more favorable climate.

Turns out weather wasn't the only difference: the suit states the Los Angeles campus isn't accredited.

As of this writing, the "California Campuses" section of the school's website disputes that claim. The site refers to the school as "an accredited, not-for-profit institution."

The Sacramento Bee reports that officials informed the students it was "not an issue" and "the school would be [American Psychological Association] accredited by the time they graduated."

The promises, students claim, were empty. The lawsuit alleges administrators neglected to take even the first steps toward accreditation.

"TCS's Los Angeles Campus was in fact a 'degree mill,' a dubious provider of educational offerings or operations whose degrees may not even be acknowledged by other institutions when students seek to transfer," the suit states, according to Courthouse News.

The suit further argues the school's nonprofit status is a lie too.

In an emailed statement to The Huffington Post, TCS communications director Elinor Gilbert rebutted the claims. "We believe this complaint is without merit and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves in court."

Note: This story has been updated with the statement from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Language referring to the suit as "class action" has also been removed. According to an official at the school, the lawsuit has yet to be certified as such.

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