I’m Ramsey Khalifeh, a transportation and former-general assignments reporter at Gothamist. Before I started covering one of the busiest beats in local New York City news, I spent almost a year investigating a scholarship program at the Roc Nation School of Music, a school that formed in 2020 in partnership with Long Island University in Downtown Brooklyn.
Behind the partnership is one of the city’s most iconic names, Jay-Z. His team at Roc Nation promoted the new school — with ties to the music industry and degrees like music production, sports management and vocal performance — and the illustrious “Hope Scholarship,” which stated that students with the “highest need” could graduate “without debt.” What I found was that at least a dozen students who were offered the scholarship four years ago are now drowning in bills.
Not only were these students struggling financially, I also found that the program was not what it was originally cut out to be. Recording studios weren’t built until the end of the first year and celebrities who were supposed to guest lecture never showed up.
The story reflected a greater issue in higher education, not just for New York City students and families but prospective students across the country. As enrollment at schools nationwide has declined, universities have become more desperate to market new programs to entice students to apply. After we published, not only did readers notice, but officials with the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protections — which typically examines allegations of predatory business practices — began investigating LIU.
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