AAAOM was featured in a new report from nonprofit Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation that details troubling signs of sex trafficking in state-authorized schools across the nation. The researchers behind the case study highlight failures in oversight and enforcement related to the issue.

The Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, a family foundation with a focus on college accountability, included the college in a report documenting the connections between sex trafficking and state-approved colleges.

A national study of sex trafficking in higher education, released this month by the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, found 18 schools, authorized by five different states, that appeared to bestow meaningless degrees on women being funneled into the sex trade — allowing those businesses to operate with a veneer of legitimacy.

In response to the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation report, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy asked the Department of Education to investigate just how many of the nation's vocational schools might be acting as illegal fronts for sex trafficking. To read the full report, visit: shs.foundation

The Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, a family foundation with a focus on college accountability, included the college in a report documenting the connections between sex trafficking and state-approved colleges.

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The Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, a family foundation focused on accountability in higher education, identified the Minnesota school and others in a report it presented Tuesday to the Department of Education. A subcommittee from the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday gave the Education Department two weeks to outline its procedures to “identify and stop human or sex trafficking connected with postsecondary education,” citing the foundation's report. The committee also requested a list of cosmetology and massage schools receiving taxpayer money controlled by the department.

Abigail Seldin, a founder of the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation and recent contender for a Department of Education position, said it was troubling to see institutions continue to operate after concerns were raised, especially in the case of the Minnesota school.

“Everybody did everything they could here,” Seldin said. “Our current regulatory structure doesn't empower them to do anything more than what happened. So we have to ask: Is it enough?”

As part of the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundationʼs research, senior fellow Ellie Bruecker, contacted dozens of state authorizers and licensing boards to ask how they handle colleges suspected of being involved in human trafficking. Of the 57 that responded, a majority told her they hadnʼt heard about the issue, or they denied sex trafficking was happening in their state. She and Seldin said that because multiple state regulators often oversee the massage industry, officials from one agency might not know everything they should look for. Additionally, some agencies operate on thin budgets with skeletal staffs, hampering their ability to conduct investigations.

Seldin asked: Would a state authorizer even be able to spot the issue if it was happening at one of their schools? “Itʼs hard to look for something youʼve never heard of,” she said.

Local laws can limit how much power a stateʼs office of higher education has to approve or monitor colleges. The foundation is advocating for a nationwide set of standards for these offices to combat not only trafficking concerns, but also issues tied to lackluster education programs that donʼt lead to well-paying careers. Seldin said governors should ensure these state offices are adequately staffed and have a big enough budget to monitor their local institutions.

View the full article in Teen Vogue.

View the full article in Fast Company.

College financial aid officials have discretion to use “professional judgment” to increase aid if a student’s circumstances have changed. Many students are unaware that they can appeal aid offers, but it’s a common practice, said Abigail Seldin, chief executive and co-founder of the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, which funds projects that expand access to public services.

The family foundation worked with FormSwift, a digital document company, to create SwiftStudent, a free tool to help students file appeals. The foundation sought advice from colleges and financial aid professionals to design the tool, Ms. Seldin said. It explains the appeals process and provides templates that students can use to write letters to submit to their colleges.

View the full article in The New York Times.

Ellie Bruecker, a doctoral student at UW-Madison who studies FAFSA completion rates, said the data is cause for concern because FAFSA completion rates, while not directly linked to college enrollment trends, are an indicator of the number of students who are seriously thinking about going to college.

"It's like a 'canary in the coal mine' situation," Bruecker said. "If students aren't filling out a FAFSA, they're probably not applying for colleges. There's this whole gantlet of steps you go through in order to eventually enroll in higher education, and if students are missing this step, it's likely they're missing other steps."

Students from low-income backgrounds — who may be the first in their family to attend college, lack reliable access to a computer or the internet, or haven't been told about the various options for paying for college — face some of the biggest barriers in getting all the necessary application work done.

The federal government uses 2-year-old income tax data to determine financial need, so many students will find themselves having to appeal for more financial aid because their financial situation changed during the pandemic.

Free help with appealing your financial aid package: https://formswift.com/swift-student

“‘Not enough students know you can appeal the financial aid you've been offered,’ explains Abigail Seldin, who founded a free tool called SwiftStudent that helps students through the process of asking for additional funds. The application form for federal student aid, known as the FAFSA, relies on tax data from two years ago. A lot can change in that time — especially today, with high unemployment and a tanked economy.

“‘Because of this, most schools have built-in an appeals process, but it's complicated and happens at the school level. ‘So much of our financial aid process is a formal process,’ says Seldin. ‘Students who may not feel comfortable asking for help, who are first-generation, are less likely to go reach out and ask for more resources, let alone resources that they don't even know exist.’

“She says she's hoping the SwiftStudent tool will make the process more transparent, especially as families struggle with job losses, reduced hours and pay cuts and even evictions related to the pandemic.”

View the full article in NPR.

“A digital platform unveiled Wednesday by the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation aims to take the guesswork out of financial aid appeals. The free tool, dubbed SwiftStudent, guides students through requesting more funding, explaining eligibility, the documents applicants need and the kinds of appeals. It provides templates, powered by software company FormSwift, that let users plug in their information to generate a letter for submission to their school’s financial aid office.

View the full article in The Washington Post.