Online program managers, such as 2U, have claimed they provide vital funds for universities to start online programs with limited risk to the institutions themselves. "We were taught that as social workers, our job is to advocate for people who don't have voices and who are from underserved communities, so to have USC preach these values while lying to our faces and taking advantage of us is so hypocritical.” Luna noted that what she and other students were being taught seemed in conflict with USC’s approach. The report found that OPM contracts were on the rise, many included payment provisions that might violate federal regulations, and the Department of Education was doing too little to monitor the arrangements. In 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) delivered a report analyzing the role OPMs play in higher education. This suit is not the first indicator that all is not well with programs like USC’s MSW. Many contracts between the OPMs and colleges pay the OPMs a share of tuition revenue in exchange for recruiting students, designing course content, and in some cases, helping provide instruction to students. Universities like USC, with valuable brands, have worked with Online Program Managers (OPMs) like 2U to start programs like the USC MSW program, which the suit alleges offers lower educational quality than the traditional on-campus program while charging just as much tuition. ![]() Master’s programs have, over the past decade, become money-spinners for schools trying to increase revenue. Students who took out federal student loans to pay for the USC program borrowed a median of $112,000. For example, the median salary for a social worker with a master’s degree range from just over $40,000 to a little under $60,000, depending on the area of practice. USC’s MSW program has come under fire for several years for offering an expensive degree that may not lead to earnings large enough for students to make a dent in the vast debts they often take on to pay for the program. Luna is Mexican-American and a first-generation college student. ![]() The fact that the MSW program was used as a moneymaker and to deceive people like myself and the communities that I come from is not okay, and something needs to be done because people continue to be recruited," said Stephanie Luna, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. ![]() “When I found out the truth about this program and just how much USC lied to us, I was livid. Students represented by the suit feel as if they were deceived.
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