FRANKFORT — Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has sued Spencerian College for allegedly misrepresenting job placement numbers to consumers. Conway said Wednesday at a news conference in Frankfort that the for-profit school violated the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act by making unfair, false and deceptive statements regarding the hiring rates of its students. Spencerian operates two Kentucky campuses — one in Lexington and one in Louisville. Conway says in some cases, Spencerian's advertised rate of job placements was 30 or 40 percent higher than the rates reported to its accreditor. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against Spencerian to stop the alleged deceptive practices and seeks civil penalties of $2,000 per violation. “We believe Spencerian was more concerned about signing up students for classes and getting their hands on federal student loan money and state student loan money than it was in educating students and placing them in jobs," Conway told Kentucky Public Radio. Spencerian is owned by Sullivan University in Louisville. During Conway's 2011 election for attorney general, employees at Sullivan were asked to donate to his opponent because of Conway's for-profit college lawsuits. The suit is the fourth Conway has filed as part of an investigation into the for-profit college industry. Conway already has active lawsuits against Daymar College and National College for misleading students about their job placements rates.
