Addressing the Main Problem
“For bootcamp founders, there is almost no barrier to entry when starting up,” writes Inc. “To lure in customers, all that is needed is someone who can teach how to code and is bold enough to promise students a job. This might require a small office if the teaching is to be done in person, but for online-only schools–and there are a handful–all that’s needed is a Slack group and video calling tools.”
Not only can student testimonials be faked, but job placement rates and salaries can also be faked. That’s why, said Jim Deters, CEO and cofounder of Galvanize—an education community for technology—in an interview with eCampus News, the main issue allowing for boot camp fraud is the lack of regulated standards and transparency.
“The specifics about standards—what constitutes an in-field job, for example—are less important than getting everyone to agree to follow them. The real problem now is that, because most everyone is using their own definitions and methods, it’s impossible for consumers to compare one program to another.”
Deters explained that, currently, there’s little incentive for bootcamps to make one standard for everyone, considering there’s no gain in “coming to the table to agree to whatever those standards should be and no person or entity that can enforce it. Individual bootcamps and companies are growing and prospering as things are, so there’s just little reason, from their perspective, to change.”
If Not from the Creators, then…
If more bootcamps follow the path of Devschool, Deters says it’s logical that all accelerated learning programs, not just coding bootcamps, will be subjected to some form of governing to enforce quality, especially if learning programs eventually seek federal funding. Much like for-profits, the Department of Education may supervise and conduct this governance.
But until then, there are specific accelerated learning program and bootcamp characteristics students and institutions should look for when choosing to participate:
1. Whether or not the program’s graduation and job placement rates have been audited by an outside firm. “This shows that a school is making the effort to open their process to review and disclose,” explained Deters. “They should check with state regulating agencies in the states where the schools operate, as well. Every state has some form of required disclosure that’s public, so I’d look for those.”
2. What a bootcamp tells a state agency should match what they’re telling students. “And if a program doesn’t file or has not filed with a state agency, that’s a warning sign,” he noted.
3. Whether or not the school has received a government certification or is working with traditional universities, as these are also safer bets.
4. Whether or not the program has been in existence for a few years. “Ideally, they should also have programs in more than one location. That speaks to stability,” said Deters.
Leading by Example
As a provider of accelerated technology learning programs, Galvanize decided to help lead the way toward a bootcamp fraud-free era by creating the Galvanize Standard: a new commitment toward transparency with the inclusion of an outside audit of the program’s published stats, as well as publication of the audit itself. “It commits us to follow a single standard—the highest requirements set by any state [California]—for all our programs across all our campuses,” emphasized Deters.
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