Ross University students may not get loans for semester in Miami

The U.S. Dept. of Education says Ross's plan to move a semester to Florida makes those students ineligible for federally insured student loans. Ross disagrees.

By Jay Greene, amednews staff. Sept. 4, 2000.

Officials for Ross University School of Medicine, a Caribbean-based medical school, say they won't alter plans to offer a fifth semester basic science course in Miami this September despite a regulation from the U.S. Dept. of Education that prohibits Ross students from using federally insured loan money off the island of Dominica.

"I don't disagree with the department's position, but it doesn't have anything to do with Ross University in Miami," said Neal Simon, Ross' president and general counsel.

Ross recap

Three weeks ago, Ross submitted to the Dept. of Education an explanation of its fifth semester course in Miami and an argument why Ross believes student loans should be allowed for the preclinical course, which the school begins offering as a new semester gets under way this month.

At press time, a department spokesman said a formal response to Ross was expected before the semester started.

Last month, Simon confirmed plans to offer fifth-semester studies in Miami for about 25 Ross students. In January, Ross plans to move its entire fifth semester, with about 80 students, to Miami from Dominica, Simon said.

"Ninety percent of our students in Miami are going to get the loans," Simon said. "We have had our lawyers look at the regulations and there are no problems. ... I am surprised the Dept. of Education said our students are not eligible for student loans. We will have a fifth semester in Miami."

However, AMNews asked the Dept. of Education if a foreign medical school could receive federally insured loans for students enrolled in a basic science course in the United States. In mid-August, the department issued this statement:

"Ross is approved to provide a graduate medical program in the country of Dominica. U.S. students attending the Ross program in Dominica are eligible for FFEL [Federal Family Education Loans]. Ross' accreditation, as approved, only extends to the location of Dominica.

"The department requires that the approval for an additional location in the U.S. meet U.S. accrediting standards. Therefore, the additional location in the U.S. would require accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

"So if students enroll at this U.S. location, they are not eligible to receive FFEL because the department has not approved this additional location," the education department said.

A Dept. of Education spokesman said Ross already had received an unspecified amount of student loan funds for the 2000-2001 school year. For 1999, total federally approved loans for Ross amounted to $34.4 million, the spokesman said.

Typically, lenders send schools funds for the upcoming school year that are then dispersed in two installments. Maximum amounts per student per academic year are $8,500 for federally subsidized loans and $10,000 for unsubsidized loans.

Simon said three students already had withdrawn from Ross based on what he called "inaccurate information" provided by the Dept. of Education on student loan eligibility.

Another issue AMNews asked the Dept. of Education to clarify involves Ross' integration of review courses for the United States Medical Licensing Examination into its basic science curriculum.

"Ross has been offering a Kaplan review course for the past eight or nine years," said the department statement. "Ross has an agreement with Kaplan to use Kaplan faculty to offer the program at Ross Dominica. The medical school considers this program to be part of its curriculum and as such there is no issue regarding the use of FFEL loan proceeds to pay for this part of the Ross educational program."

By contrast, USMLE review courses are not typically considered part of curriculums leading to an MD degree at American medical schools. U.S. medical students generally pay the full cost of the courses -- about $1,200 -- out of their own pockets.

Earlier this year, Ross dropped a controversial plan to open a two-year basic science branch campus in Wyoming. Opponents argued that Ross should be barred from offering preclinical courses in the United States until they become accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the voluntary body that accredits the nation's 125 allopathic medical schools. At the time, the Dept. of Education ruled that student loans could be allowed in the 50 states only if a school was accredited by the LCME.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Ross recap

After operating nearly 20 years in the Caribbean, Ross University School of Medicine starts looking to bring its classes to U.S. soil. A chronology:

1979: Ross University opens on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Founded by businessman Robert Ross, a millionaire who made his fortune trading commodities like grain and petroleum with the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
1998: Ross proposes a $12 million, two-year, basic science branch campus in Casper, Wyo.
1999: The Wyoming Medical Assn. seeks the AMA's backing in opposing the private school. AMA supports the accreditation of all U.S.-based medical schools by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education. Ross is accredited by the Dominica Medical Board.
April 2000: Leeds Equity Partners and JW Childs Associates, two venture capital firms, purchase Ross University for an undisclosed price. Robert Ross becomes chair emeritus.
May: New owners cancel Wyoming campus plans.
August: Ross announces plan to move its fifth semester basic science course to Miami. U.S. Dept. of Education officials say Ross students ineligible for federally insured student loans. Ross submits supporting documents to the education department.