The Marinello Schools of Beauty locations in CT will be closing on Friday.
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It comes days after the Federal Department of Education announced it was cutting the school’s financial aid funding. Marinello has schools in Hamden, E. Hartford, Fairfield, Niantic and Willamantic.
This decision follows the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement Monday that the institution lost the ability to participate in the federal student aid program.
The department’s investigation into Marinello alleged that the for-profit knowingly requested federal aid for students based on fabricated high school diplomas, while also “underawarding financial aid to students and charging students for excessive overtime”. Campus meetings are scheduled for Friday, February 12, from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m.to 7 p.m., according to a statement from the school.
OHE Executive Director Jane Ciarleglio said the agency could help students get their academic records and get their money back.
Teachers too said they received no warning. “But we think it’s important for everyone to have at least that educational background, so we work with students through an accredited school to get their high school equivalency completed”.
The Department of Education claims many Marinello students were never given Parkridge coursework whatsoever, and say other students were given answers to tests preemptively, all so Marinello could keep its enrollment numbers up. One student telling us she is afraid of losing her hours.
Marinello School of Beauty with branches in Sacramento, Stockton, and Napa shut its doors nationwide, a network that included 56 schools and 4,300 students nationwide.
The company has operations throughout California.
But that’s of little effect to this skin care student who says she was just weeks from graduating.
Company officials have denied those allegations, but said they could not continue to operate the schools without funding.
So far, there is no word from the state board whether there will be any tuition refunds or new federal tuition assistance available for those students.
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Ciarlegio, executive director of the state Office of Higher Education, said the office would be working with students who need to obtain paperwork from Marinello or are looking for information about other beauty schools in CT.
