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A big I-Team investigation found dozens of Wisconsin students left high and dry after their school suddenly closed. Many of those students say they paid thousands of dollars with little or nothing to show for it.

The worst part, students got absolutely no warning at all.

Just a few weeks ago, Kevin Barry of Franklin was on his way to new career in computers -- halfway through a six-month, $13,000 Microsoft certification training program.

"This was going to be the little extra edge to get me in there and get me a really good paying IT job," said Barry.

Barry took out a big loan and enrolled at the Milwaukee campus of Computertraining.edu (originally Computertraining.com), a nationally-accredited school based in Baltimore. With campuses across the country, it had been around for nearly 20 years until last December 31.

That's when students got an unsigned email from the school saying, "It is with deep sadness and regret that Computertraining.edu announces it will cease operation and close all of the schools, effective immediately."

There was no explanation.

"Talk about the floor falling out," Barry said. "I read the email, and I just sat there in shock going, how could they do this?"

"Everybody was sort of just left out in the wind," said Morgan Tremper, Barry's instructor. No head's up for him either.

"Obviously, I felt betrayed, but I felt even worse for them," Tremper sighed. "They invested in this program and were pretty much cut right off."

So was Tremper. The school still owes him thousands of dollars in back pay. Plus, the phone numbers and email addresses he has for his bosses in Baltimore don't work anymore.

"It's easy to point fingers and blame just a few people," Tremper said. "But the whole company has gone down the toilet, for lack of a better term."

When the I-Team called the school's east coast headquarters, all we got was this recorded message blaming its bank, BB&T, for cutting off its cash.

The message said, "If you are as outraged as we are, please contact your congressman or state representative and let them know that despite receiving $3.1 billion federal TARP funds, BB&T has let you down."

BB&T spokeswoman, A.C. McGraw, wouldn't say why the bank called in the school's loans, just that, "Their decision to close its schools and corporate office was made by Computertraining.edu, not by BB&T. We are disappointed it's placing blame on BB&T for its financial situation."

We hoped someone at the school's Milwaukee campus could clear things up. We found the office unlocked and totally abandoned. High-end computer labs sat empty, and student files with personal information sat on office desks. It was almost like the people who worked there just put down their pens and walked out.

"That certainly troubles us, and we certainly appreciate you bringing it to our attention," said David Dies, Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board.

All this mess landed right in his lap.

"We certainly approach these as very serious situations," Dies explained. "We understand they're very stressful for students. It's why we believe that communication is very important."

The EAB has spent the last few weeks reaching out to students who paid all that money. The plan: put together a "teach-out," so students, like Kevin Barry, can finish their training somewhere else without shelling out any more money.

"At the end of the day, I want to get my education is basically what it comes down to," Barry said.

It wasn't easy, but the I-Team eventually tracked down contact information for the school's president, Charles Lang, in Baltimore. Lang's wife, who answered the phone, gave me a quick no comment and referred us to the school's owner, David Rau. It looks like Rau lives in Florida, but so far hasn't returned our calls.

UPDATE:  On January 20, 2010, the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board held an information session in Brookfield for former Computertraining.edu students.  At that meeting, students were told about vatious "teach-out" options recently set up by the EAB.  Most students will now be able to continue their training through other programs at no additional cost.   

Email Aaron: adiamant@todaystmj4.com

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