Displaced Star Career Academy Students Offered Help By Ocean County College

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Ocean County College is offering students of Star Career Academy and ServFast Computers left stranded in the wake of the company's closure assistance in completing their certifications.

Officials at the college say the school will evaluate transcripts, help provide transfer services, and when necessary, offer classes specifically geared to former Star/Servfast students to help them graduate in a timely fashion.

“OCC is open to welcoming and assisting those students who wish to finish their training or have their transcripts from Star evaluated and applied to one of our certificate or degree programs,” said AJ Trump, interim director of enrollment management at Ocean County College.

Star Career Academy, which had locations in Brick, Clifton, Egg Harbor and Newark, in Philadelphia and in New York City and operated the Culinary Academy of Long Island in Syosset, N.Y., and ServFast Computers in Toms River, closed abruptly on Nov. 15 for what it said were financial reasons.

The for-profit vocational school said its closure was "the result of the negative financial impact of a continued declining student population while operating in the challenging for-profit post-secondary school industry. Star Career Academy has done everything in its power to prevent closure after operating for 37 years and providing a supportive educational environment for thousands of students."

However, in November 2015, the company was ordered to pay a $9.2 million judgment in a class action lawsuit for defrauding students in its surgical technology program; Star Career Academy was accused of misrepresenting the program's accreditations, according to attorneys representing the defendants.

Ocean County College officials said students looking for information on certificate programs should contact OCC’s Department of Continuing & Professional Education at 732-255-0409. Many non-credit classes are currently on going, officials said; if there is a group of students who need a particular course of study, OCC will begin a special course for them, they said.

Contacts are as follows:

• Health Care: Kathy Caro, Administrator for Nursing & Allied Health, ext. 2326.
• Technology/Computers: Karen Albrecht, Technology & Community Career Administrator, ext. 2094.

Students interested in transferring into a college-credit degree program will be permitted to have transcripts evaluated for credit by OCC’s Registration & Records Office. For information on credit opportunities, call 732-255-0400, and ask for Admissions Representatives Amanda Kuster, ext. 2134, or John Sellino, ext. 3861.

For updated information on offerings for students displaced by the closing of Star Career Academy and ServFast Computers, visit Ocean County College at www.ocean.edu.

On its website, Star Career Academy said students needing transcripts should send an email to transcript@starcareer.edu. Please include the location of the campus you attended, your full name, date of birth and current address in your request.

Photo via Ocean County College Facebook page