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First ABI, now CSB....

T

Twitch

Guest
I heard this as a rumor last night, but now the news in Farmington, CT (CSB's original HQ city) is reporting that ALL CSB locations (including the two in Atlanta) have shut down....suddenly and without notice.

http://www.courant.com/news/education/hcu-ap-csbclose-0304,0,4355424.story

The Hartford Courant reports:
FARMINGTON, Conn. - The Connecticut School of Broadcasting, with locations nationwide, has shut down without warning.

Students at the Farmington location say they found out by text message Wednesday night while others showing up for class found the doors locked.

Students say they paid $12,000 for a sixteen week course and graduation had been set for next week.

The school was founded in Connecticut in 1964 by a Hartford broadcaster. The family that started the school has told WTNH-TV it has begun the process to reopen the school so students can graduate.

According to its Web site, the school has 26 locations in 15 states and Washington, D.C.

A message seeking comment has been left at the Farmington school.

Dick Robinson was the owner of the school from 1964 until 2006 when he sold it to a group of Boston-based private investors. These investors took on MAJOR expansion by taking it from 13 campuses (Atlanta was the 13th) to a staggering 26 locations in a matter of just 3 years. And now, it seems, all of them have closed (or are closing).

Not surprising, really....and not because they have a "bad business model" or anything like that. They rely on people being able to get funding.....and with the economy being how it is (added to the amount of debt they've probably collected with all of their expansion), a shut-down was likely.

It's just another sign of where we are right now...and it's really kind of scary.


[Link added by Radio-Info as a courtesy]
 
I graduated from a b'cast school (not CSB) and was a part-time instructor at a CSB location for years. And this is news, while unexpected, makes me sad.

I recall a period when digital was sweeping through control rooms. I was on the air in a studio with 7 computer screens, all the bells and whistles. I'd go teach students at CSB in control rooms with turntables and CD players. I felt badly for the students but at least I could show them the basics of communications. Whether you're spinning 45's or using some yet-to-be invented biomass cortex-implanted transmodial receptor (I just made that up but it sounds cool!), the basics of radio were/are/will remain the same: communicate.

Still, it felt not quite right.

The prices of tuition were skyrocketing. I think it was because A) there was a big demand for awhile and they could get away with it and B) once they were approved for govt. financial aid, the sky was the limit. Kind of like the sub-prime mortgage thing - anyone with a pulse could get financial aid and enter the school.

A few students of mine went on to do very well. Most didn't. I think that's probably the case in any vo-tech school. What's rotten is paying all that cash and seeing locks on the door. Students, I hate to break it to you, but ...

Having a diploma from CSB just won't affect your job search much one way or another. Radio has gone through radical changes in just the last 24 months and the De - er, REcession makes it worse. I wish you all the very, very best. It's kind of like watching turtles being hatched on a sandy beach and their instictual, frantic rush to water. Most get picked off by predators. Most who make it to the sea get picked off by predators.

Most of the CSB students are nothing but fodder. You kept the doors of the school open and kept the employees working, but ...
 
WKomm said:
I graduated from a b'cast school (not CSB) and was a part-time instructor at a CSB location for years. And this is news, while unexpected, makes me sad.

I recall a period when digital was sweeping through control rooms. I was on the air in a studio with 7 computer screens, all the bells and whistles. I'd go teach students at CSB in control rooms with turntables and CD players. I felt badly for the students but at least I could show them the basics of communications. Whether you're spinning 45's or using some yet-to-be invented biomass cortex-implanted transmodial receptor (I just made that up but it sounds cool!), the basics of radio were/are/will remain the same: communicate.

Still, it felt not quite right.

The prices of tuition were skyrocketing. I think it was because A) there was a big demand for awhile and they could get away with it and B) once they were approved for govt. financial aid, the sky was the limit. Kind of like the sub-prime mortgage thing - anyone with a pulse could get financial aid and enter the school.

A few students of mine went on to do very well. Most didn't. I think that's probably the case in any vo-tech school. What's rotten is paying all that cash and seeing locks on the door. Students, I hate to break it to you, but ...

Having a diploma from CSB just won't affect your job search much one way or another. Radio has gone through radical changes in just the last 24 months and the De - er, REcession makes it worse. I wish you all the very, very best. It's kind of like watching turtles being hatched on a sandy beach and their instictual, frantic rush to water. Most get picked off by predators. Most who make it to the sea get picked off by predators.

Most of the CSB students are nothing but fodder. You kept the doors of the school open and kept the employees working, but ...
Click to expand...

I went to ABI in 2002. It was a CSB a few years prior to that. When I first walked in to the school, there was a reel-to-reel player in one of the studios. After enrolling, I found out that not only did they not teach anything about it, but that they kept it in the studio (disconnected) just "for looks". Yeah, because THAT'S attractive....in a radio museum maybe! :)

Re: CSB....they've actually never been able to accept government funding because they are not an accredited school. They had to rely on the ability of potential students to get loans from places like Sallie Mae. With the credit crunch being in full effect, I doubt they were seeing any kind of growth.

Yes, most CSB students end up wasting their time and money. But they still (or used to) churn out a few good apples...and THOSE are the ones who end up making it and making a living out of it.
 
I went to CSB (albeit a different iteration) in 1997 when they had a 'campus' off of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill. I think it was privately owned so I don't know if it was technically part of the CSB group of schools. I'm trying to remember who we had as instructors, Deborah Richards, Peg Avery (who ended up coaching me in VO), Tony MacIntosh...one of the field reporters for Fox 5...I forget the rest.
 
Twitch - not trying to start anything but the CSB I taught at DID get accredited and it was a big deal for them. The tuition went up because students could get govt, loans. My memory is good on this. I worked with the school director and remember how hard he worked to make that happen.
 
WKomm said:
Twitch - not trying to start anything but the CSB I taught at DID get accredited and it was a big deal for them. The tuition went up because students could get govt, loans. My memory is good on this. I worked with the school director and remember how hard he worked to make that happen.
Click to expand...

Oh, it's cool... so, this wasn't in Atlanta then? It was somewhere else?

I say that because CSB in it's most recent form (at least in GA) is not accredited by the state of Georgia. Only because they don't (or didn't) teach any core subjects like english, science, math, history, foreign language, etc. That's all I was getting at.

Getting any CSB accreditation must have been a big deal. When was this?
 
twitch - this was a ways back and not in GA. I'm thinking mid 90's. But I honestly remember the jubilation. Until then, they accepted only cash and it was up to the student to find the $$. Once it was an accredited trade school, loans were available and because of that, admission costs took a huge jump. Of course, back then there were still radio jobs, internships, etc.

Different world now.
 
I was a graduate of the Ron Bailie School of Broadcasting in 1985 a their Denver school. I was promised all kinds of job placement assistance. 3 years later the school went belly up. I now work in payroll. These schools are a waste of money.
 
ExNuYawker - Not so fast. I also went to the RB school and I've had a terrific career. Personally, I think they did you a favor. About right now I'm guessing you're pretty happy with your job.
 
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