Here's the Kris Jenner Scandal You Haven't Heard About Yet
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Yet another for-profit college scandal is brewing in the U.S., and Kris Jenner may be caught in the crossfire.
Legacy Business School - legacyny.org
Legacy Business School — a for-profit college co-founded and promoted by Jenner — is set to launch in New York this September. Tuition costs run up to $105,000 for a one-year certificate program.
Tuition price aside, the scandal concerns the institution's alleged relationship to another for-profit college, the European School of Economics, which has allegedly operated illegally in New York.
The Legacy School is reportedly new in name alone, according to The Daily Beast.
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Records from the New York State Education Department show that Jenner's Legacy Business School is allegedly a rebranded version of the European School of Economics, an Italy-based business school that offers U.K. bachelor and masters degrees and has been sued in the U.S. at least a dozen times since 2006, The Daily Beast reports. Legacy and ESE share the same address, phone numbers, and CEO, Alessandro Nomellini.
While ESE is able to offer degrees to students, it reportedly failed to obtain clearance from the NYSED to legally operate as a college campus in the state. Nevertheless, it allegedly continued to advertise its programs to New York students and provided degrees through 2016, even after the state sent three cease-and-desist letters to the school between 2006 and 2008.
The Daily Beast reports:
"During the years that requests from the state education authority were piling up, the European School of Economics was also incurring massive debts and defending itself from lawsuits. Between 2006 and 2012, the European School of Economics racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts from judgments and tax liens."
Jenner's role in the Legacy Business School scandal.
It is unclear if Jenner was aware of the relationship between the European School of Economics and Legacy Business School. She is one of the founders of the school, however, and she has actively promoted the institution, appearing in promotional videos and offering to sit down with the first 100 enrollees for an "exclusive dinner" when the school formally launches, Business Insider reports.
"As someone who always expects the best, I was drawn to Alessandro’s concept of a white-glove business school, offering the finest amenities, with luxuries that you’d expect from a school created for the global elite," Jenner said at a press conference in April.
Jenner continued:
"For those who can hone their creative vision, understand how to amplify their ideas, and apply the tenacity it takes to turn concepts into reality, there is almost nothing that can’t be accomplished. Unfortunately, these kinds of essential skills are too often neglected in today’s schools. The old modes of education simply cannot keep up. The world is just changing too fast."
How the European School of Economics rebranded itself.
European School of Economics - ac.uk
ESE submitted all paperwork necessary to become a non-degree granting institution under a new name, Legacy Business School, this year, a spokesperson for the NYSED told The Daily Beast. Now Legacy Business School is "in candidacy status," allowing it to operate unlicensed for 12 months. That means the institution can offer certifications for completion of its programs but is not licensed to offer accredited degrees.
ATTN: reached out to Kris Jenner and Legacy School of Business for comment, but representatives were not immediately available.
