Wondering if anyone might have legal advice on this subject. My wife got her grad degree at a school in Alabama. She was about to graduate with a M.Ed in Psychometrics. Her school informed her that she needed to see the state school board member that was on campus to fill out an application to be certified to work in the state's educational system. She went, and they casually informed her that her school never should have accepted her into her program because she has a Bachelor's in Child Development, and to work in the state she needed her bachelor's in an education field. She already had a job lined up and had to turn it down. They gave her the degree, but it doesn't help her be certified to use it. All her major professor said was that when he looked over her credentials upon her acceptance, he confused her with a girl who's name also started with an "m" even though there were only 5 people accepted into her program. Meanwhile, she has a master's she can't use, and we have to foot the bill for 3 years of out-of-state tuition (the school downright refuses in-state unless you're married or take a year off, now we're married and she's had over a year off, but that won't help us now!) Any advice or suggestions would be welcome. Also, a too bad buddy, wouldn't hurt my feelings! That's all we've gotten until now!

When I was researching how to deal with my DH's student loan issue (he's disabled and cannot use his education for other reasons) I remember seeing something about appealing programs that were unable to be used. I will see if I can find it.

That was gross negligence on the school's part...did your wife rely on the advice of this school when she chose her degree program expecting to be certified?

I think this is what I saw...though it may not apply:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/stu...sp?tab=repaying

The following three school-related discharges apply to FFEL and Direct Stafford Loans only.

You didn't have the "ability to benefit" from the coursework (false certification) ...
A Stafford Loan can be discharged if the school admitted you based on your ability to benefit from the training, but you weren't properly tested to measure that ability, or you failed the test. You might also be eligible for this type of discharge if you did not meet the physical or legal requirements of your state to enroll in the program or to work in the career for which you were training, regardless of whether you had a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate.If you had a high school diploma or GED when you enrolled in the program, you're ineligible for this discharge because those documents are sufficient to establish your ability to benefit from further training after high school. You may not be eligible for a discharge if you received a GED before you completed your program of study at the college or career school, or you completed a developmental or remedial program at the school.

Geez Dragon!!! Thanks for the info!!! Well, she chose her school because they gave her an "assistantship" with the football team helping record grades and schedules. After accepting the assistantship (which waives her out of state tuition while paying her a very low hourly rate) she came to school, and they told her it was a mistake, that it should have been posted as an assistant's position with no waiver. She fought it all the way up to the athletic director, and they had to fulfill their end of the bargain. Didn't stop them from "cutting her out of their budget" shortly thereafter. So long story short, she went there because she thought she could go for 2/3 cheaper than anywhere else. As to the issue with her relying on them, all I assume we could prove is that she obviously wouldn't work 3 years for a degree that is unusable due to her previous education. I don't know how much of a leg we could stand on there, but I should I guess look through their admissions process legal docs to see if I see any red flags I could use. Hey, even if your info won't apply to my wife, you're moving me in the right direction, and I really appreciate that.

I don't know dragon, this might apply. We're going to try this dispute tactic based on acceptance without certification. I'll keep you posted on what I hear.

It more than likely will not qualify for cancellation as the student does bear responsibility especially at the graduate level to investigate programs, requirements and qualifications. The unable to benefit would apply only to students not possessing a GED or high school level education, not a masters level. Also, the is also the arguement that a degree of any type will guarantee you any job.

Lynn, that's pretty much what I read into it, too. It would be kind of hard for us to prove that her degree didn't do her any good at all, even though it doesn't do her any good in the field she wanted to work in. However, after being pumped up by the quick help from dragon, I contacted some state school board members late last night, and one was apparently awake, and sent me an email telling me she would help me with trying to get her certified, which is option two. So, in effect, even though the info dragon sent me didn't work, had I not gone to that website and looked into their links and related info, I wouldn't have gained contacts that might help me resolve the issue! Thanks so much guys!

I am glad that link to the FSA site was helpful. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Just a quick thanks to D... thanks for looking that up for Brett.

No prob. It's the least I could do is contribute and pay it forward.