1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN 2 AND FOR DUVAL COUNTY, 10 SWORN STATEMENT OF Antonio Henry 11

Transcription

1 1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN 2 AND FOR DUVAL COUNTY, 3 AG CASE NO.: L STATE OF FLORIDA, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, 5 Plaintiff, 6 vs. 7 THE KEISER SCHOOL, INC. d/b/a KEISER UNIVERSITY, 8 Defendants. 9 * * * * * * * * * * * * * 10 SWORN STATEMENT OF Antonio Henry Taken on Behalf of the Plaintiff 13 DATE: April 17, TIME: 8:30 a.m. 15 PLACE: MileStone Reporting Company 100 East Pine Street, Suite Orlando, FL REPORTED BY: Karen Allen-Lewin, Court Reporter, Notary Public

2 18937 Henry Antonio Page 2 of 54 1 APPEARANCES: 2 3 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Riverplace Boulevard, Suite Jacksonville, Florida (904) Ext BY: GREGORY A. JACKSON, ESQUIRE

3 18937 Henry Antonio Page 3 of 54 1 I N D E X 2 3 TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS Sworn Statement held April 17, TESTIMONY OF ANTONIO HENRY 6 Direct Examination by Mr. Jackson 4 7 * * * * * * 8 9 E X H I B I T S 10 (No Exhibits were marked.) 11 * * * * * * CERTIFICATE OF OATH CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER

4 18937 Henry Antonio Page 4 of 54 1 THEREUPON: 2 The following proceedings were held: 3 Antonio Henry, 4 a witness herein, after having been first 5 duly sworn, was examined and testified as 6 follows: 7 THE WITNESS: I do. 8 DIRECT EXAMINATION 9 BY MR. JACKSON: 10 Q. Good morning, sir. 11 A. Good morning. 12 Q. Could you please state your full name for the 13 record. 14 A. Antonio Valentino Henry. 15 Q. Mr. Henry, we've met previously; is that 16 correct? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. And during that previous meeting back in 19 January of 2012 you provided us with information 20 regarding your employment with a school called Keiser 21 University, correct? 22 A. Yes, sir. 23 Q. At the time that you were working for Keiser 24 University it was a for-profit school; is that 25 correct?

5 18937 Henry Antonio Page 5 of 54 1 A. Right, they were for-profit if I remember 2 correctly. 3 Q. Now, just real quickly, can you tell us how 4 long or what were your dates of employment for Keiser 5 University? 6 A. I was thinking about that. I think that I 7 started working for the state last year, so I think I 8 left there in March of 2010, so I was there a 9 year-and-a-half, so I started working there I think 10 October of the previous year Q. Now I have that it was down as March of ? 13 A. Right. I was thinking about that. Because I 14 know I was working for the state then, because -- yes, 15 I worked for the state all of last year, so it was 16 '10. I started working for the state in November of Right, so yes, I left there March of 2010, so I 18 started working there Q. So the time frame that you were with Keiser 20 was approximately a year-and-a-half? 21 A. Right, about a year-and-a-half. 22 Q. What was your position with Keiser 23 University? 24 A. I was called an admission counselor or 25 advisor.

6 18937 Henry Antonio Page 6 of 54 1 Q. What were your duties as it related to your 2 position as an admissions counselor/advisor? 3 A. My job was basically students come in, we 4 talk to them about career goals and just admit them 5 into the school in certain programs that they may be 6 interested in. 7 Q. Now, was there any particular way that 8 students made it to speak with you as an advisor? 9 A. Either by referrals or either they contacted 10 the school. 11 Q. When you were provided a referral to a 12 student, was that provided to you through Keiser or 13 through some third-party entity? 14 A. Keiser and also I think the majority of it 15 was a third party. 16 Q. Do you recall the name of that third-party 17 entity? 18 A. No, sir, I don't remember the name. 19 Q. With regard to the information that was 20 provided to you through referrals from the third-party 21 entity, were you provided any incentives or bonuses 22 based on getting students that were provided as a part 23 of a third-party referral as opposed to coming to you 24 directly through Keiser? 25 A. No. Only thing that I know, the supervisor,

7 18937 Henry Antonio Page 7 of 54 1 which is Vicki Mauer, she used to sometime to motivate 2 us, she would bring us in and have little games. Like 3 if you get the most numbers for that week she'll give 4 you a prize or something like that. Other than that, 5 that place -- we didn't have any actual money 6 incentives, but she will play those little games. If 7 you get so many people that week she'll say, okay, 8 come in my office and you win a prize, pick a prize. 9 Q. Now, the nature of those prizes, can you give 10 us an idea of what types of prizes were given to you 11 or given to employees? 12 A. If I can recall it would be stuff like maybe 13 gift cards. I can't really recall what all the gifts 14 were. 15 Q. The prizes that were given to the employees 16 for meeting certain numbers, were they provided by 17 Vicki Mauer, or were they provided by Keiser 18 University, or do you know? 19 A. I'm not sure. I don't know how she paid for 20 them, I don't know if she paid for them out of her 21 pocket, I'm not sure if she paid for it with Keiser's 22 funds, I'm not sure. 23 Q. Now prior to working with Keiser University, 24 how long had you been in the for-profit school 25 industry?

8 18937 Henry Antonio Page 8 of 54 1 A. Before that I was working approximately about 2 11 years. I been in the industry for about 11 3 years. 4 Q. Have you worked in the industry in the 5 capacity of an admissions counselor solely, or were 6 you in any other positions over that 11-year period? 7 A. Right. Well, let me correct. I think it was 8 like nine years I was in the industry before I got to 9 them. That was, yes, about nine years. 10 Q. So prior to Keiser you were in the industry 11 for nine years, but including Keiser it would have 12 been about 10-and-a-half, 11 years? 13 A. Right. 14 Q. Over that 11-year period did you work solely 15 as an admissions counselor, or did you hold any other 16 positions within the for-profit or education 17 industry? 18 A. Well, I worked for ITT Technical Institute 19 from 2000 to 2007; I worked for Florida Technical 20 College for a little while, only a few months; then I 21 went to Strayer University, I stayed there about maybe 22 six months; then I went to another place called 23 Compass Knowledge and I worked there for maybe close 24 to a year I believe; and then I think after that was 25 Keiser University.

9 18937 Henry Antonio Page 9 of 54 1 Q. What type of campus was Compass Knowledge? 2 A. Compass Knowledge was basically a building, 3 it was a bunch of people that actually sat in a booth 4 and were like -- will represent schools, you know, 5 will represent schools. The way it basically worked 6 was that the -- whoever was the CEO or whatever they 7 would, you know, make an agreement with the school 8 that we will recruit for them and that's what we would 9 do. It was an outside source for recruiting. 10 Q. Recruiting for Compass Knowledge, was it 11 similar to the duties that you had as an admissions 12 counselor for Keiser or for any of the other 13 schools? 14 A. It was the same, the only difference was we 15 were on the phone. But we still had goals, we still 16 had quotas to make. 17 Q. You didn't meet face to face with students 18 with Compass Knowledge? 19 A. No. 20 Q. But with Keiser University you would have the 21 opportunity to meet face-to-face with students? 22 A. All face-to-face. Unless I was dealing with 23 a student from say out of the country and then I would 24 deal directly with the students via fax, phone, 25 whatever at Keiser University. But eventually if they

10 18937 Henry Antonio Page 10 of 54 1 come to the school I have to see them. Eventually 2 they'll get there. 3 Q. Now, when you were working with or speaking 4 with students as an admissions counselor for Keiser 5 University, did they provide you with any type of 6 documentation or information to help you to recruit or 7 to counsel these students? 8 A. I can't recall if we had any documents that 9 we used. But I know if a situation came up we will 10 probably talk among each other on what to say and how 11 to say it. And a lot of times also with Vicki, if we 12 got into a situation where we needed some assistance 13 with the students or the student is not budging, you 14 know, we can go to her and say, hey, can you come talk 15 to the student for us, how would you handle this 16 situation and so forth. 17 Q. Are you familiar with a form or a packet of 18 information known as the QCC? 19 A. I can't recall that. 20 Q. Now, in speaking with students to recruit 21 them for Keiser University, when you say that if you 22 had a problem with students and you would ask the 23 supervisor to come in and sit down and speak with the 24 students, how would her approach with the students 25 differ from say your approach with the students, how

11 18937 Henry Antonio Page 11 of 54 1 would the information differ that she would convey to 2 them? 3 A. Well, the only big difference is -- because, 4 you know, we do all the work. She'll come in and 5 target, what's the problem, she'll actually pinpoint 6 and target that certain area. If I say that this 7 person wants nursing but, you know, we could probably 8 put her in medical assisting, maybe she'll go in and 9 try to use whatever words to put them in medical 10 assisting instead of nursing. It's like an incentive, 11 it's like when you go buy a car, you sit in the car 12 and you hold on and next thing you know the big 13 supervisor come in and see if he can twist your words, 14 twist the numbers to try to get you to buy the car. 15 Same aspect. 16 Q. And I know that you probably don't have exact 17 numbers because you don't have your paperwork related 18 to the duties for Keiser University as an admissions 19 counselor with you today, correct? 20 A. Right, I don't. 21 Q. But based on your recollection, can you tell 22 us approximately how often you would have Ms. Mauer to 23 come in and sit with you or to come in and to talk 24 with a potential student to have them to enroll at 25 Keiser University?

12 18937 Henry Antonio Page 12 of 54 1 A. Really I can't recall if she came in. I know 2 a lot of times we will speak with her. It's not that 3 quite often. The reason why I say that, because we 4 had managers under her, assistant director of 5 recruitment, so we would go to them first. It's just 6 like a chain of command, you go to them first and if 7 they can't handle it then we'll go straight to Vicki. 8 Q. Aside from Ms. Mauer can you recall the names 9 of any other supervisors or managers that you worked 10 with while you were at Keiser University? 11 A. I don't remember the last names. The first 12 name I know one was Emanuel. And I think another one 13 was Mike, he was the assistant director of 14 recruitment. But I can't recall their last names, 15 it's been a couple years since I've been there. 16 Q. Emanuel is a man or female? 17 A. Man. I think it's Emanuel. 18 Q. In performing your duties as an admissions 19 counselor for Keiser University, were you given any 20 quotas that you had to meet in order to either be 21 successful or to maintain your employment with Keiser 22 University? 23 A. Yes, we did have quotas. 24 Q. What were those quotas based upon, how did 25 that come about?

13 18937 Henry Antonio Page 13 of 54 1 A. Well, it's based on -- Vicki gets the numbers 2 that we need every month or every start and she would 3 divide it up upon team. And it's based on seniority. 4 Like they had senior admission advisor, probably get 5 more of the numbers than anybody else because they're 6 more experienced, then they'll come down to us. But 7 basically every week, like I said, every week we used 8 to go in her office. If we had numbers to meet, 9 before the meeting ends she would ask us, what do you 10 think you can do that week, and then we would 11 guesstimate a number based on our activity from the 12 previous week. It could be two, three, you know. 13 We're just guessing to tell you the truth. You can't 14 control what people do. We based it on activity. If 15 we felt like we had three or four people the week 16 before that said that they may come back, then a lot 17 of times that's how we predicted it. 18 Q. Now, you provided our office with some 19 documentation and a part of this documentation is a 20 counselor start plan. Does this counselor start plan 21 in any way give an indication of the quotas that you 22 were required to meet as an employee of Keiser 23 University? 24 A. Yes, it does. 25 Q. Can you explain for us where it shows the

14 18937 Henry Antonio Page 14 of 54 1 numbers that you were to get in order to maintain your 2 employment with Keiser University? 3 A. It's the fourth line. 4 Q. Fourth line meaning number of enrollment? 5 A. Need goal, show rate. 6 Q. This number here is what? 7 A. This is our goal, that's how many people we 8 needed to enroll. 9 Q. And was this on a weekly basis, monthly 10 basis; or what is this? 11 A. It looks like a monthly basis here. 12 Q. And so the number that you were to make in 13 the course of a month was eight? 14 A. Right. 15 Q. Now, what would happen if you didn't make 16 this eight by the end of the month? 17 A. Well, let me see, what did Vicki use to do 18 with us. I know a lot of times she will sit down and 19 counsel us and see what happened for that month. But 20 eventually if you keep missing your numbers you will 21 get wrote up, you get a statement in your file saying 22 that you're not making your numbers and eventually get 23 terminated. 24 Q. Do you recall or do you know how many times 25 an admissions counselor can miss their number or this

15 18937 Henry Antonio Page 15 of 54 1 target before they are written up and before they're 2 terminated, if they miss it six months in a row, eight 3 months in a row they're written up, and if they miss 4 it over the course of 12 months they're terminated; do 5 you know what that formula is? 6 A. No, I don't know how she really done that. 7 It seem like a lot of times that place -- we did good 8 as a department, it seemed like everything was okay. 9 But if we missed a start it seems like that's when 10 they start pointing fingers saying it's your fault, 11 your fault, if you would have made your number we 12 would have made our goal. 13 Q. Based on this quota system that was in place 14 during your employment at Keiser University, did that 15 place pressure on the admissions counselors to go out 16 and get students to enroll? 17 A. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. 18 Q. That pressure on the admissions counselors, 19 did that affect their technique in recruiting or 20 counseling students to enroll at Keiser University? 21 A. Well, I'm going to speak for me. One thing 22 that I did, when students come in I cared about them. 23 I really, really cared about them. But a lot of other 24 people that I have seen, you know, they were number 25 driven because that's how they pay their mortgage and

16 18937 Henry Antonio Page 16 of 54 1 their bills. I have seen supervisors -- not 2 supervisors, excuse me -- counselors coming in, I hear 3 things like let me go flip this one, let me put him in 4 another program, he came in for something else let me 5 see if I can flip him for something else because I 6 need this number to make my goal. I seen some of the 7 counselors just flat out lie to some of these kids to 8 try to get them in numbers so they can make -- excuse 9 me -- get them in the program so they can make their 10 numbers. 11 Q. Now some of the misrepresentations that the 12 counselors would make, would it be in any way related 13 to the ability to transfer credits to different 14 schools? 15 A. Right. That's a common question we used to 16 get all the time, can we transfer those credits? 17 Keiser was a recently accredited school so most of the 18 credits normally transferred. But the standard spiel 19 for that is up to the receiving institution whether 20 they would take your credits or not. If they told 21 them that a school would automatically take their 22 credit they probably was telling a lie. Because you 23 have to contact that school and say will you take my 24 credits. 25 Q. But the way it was represented to the

17 18937 Henry Antonio Page 17 of 54 1 students, if I'm understanding you correctly, is that 2 it was an automatic acceptance without the caveat of 3 it's up to the receiving university? 4 A. Right. Because they say we're like Harvard, 5 we're like one of the big name schools so you 6 shouldn't have no problem transferring your credits. 7 But the bottom line is it's up to the receiving 8 institution. 9 Q. Now, in addition to that type of 10 misrepresentation, did you ever hear any of the 11 admissions counselors discuss the students paying 12 paying back student loans and saying that you don't 13 have to pay back these loans for X amount of time or 14 you don't have to pay these loans back at all? 15 A. Well, I can't recall that because we sat we had different offices, we all sat in an office by 17 ourself so I can't recall actually sitting with 18 somebody and hear them say that. 19 Q. What other -- or can you describe any other 20 misrepresentations that were given to students by 21 admissions counselors that you believe were not 22 appropriate or were improper? 23 A. Well, they used to come in the office and 24 want nursing. I know a lot of times, like I said, 25 they would try to flip it into another program, like

18 18937 Henry Antonio Page 18 of 54 1 tell them you need to go medical assistant route, and 2 then eventually you can jump over to nursing. A lot 3 of times those kids they don't want medical assistant 4 they want nursing. But since they were a number, 5 since there was a quota involved you're going to do 6 what you got to do to get these kids in so you can 7 make that number. 8 Q. It sounds like some of the admissions 9 counselors, I can't say all, but some of the 10 admissions counselors were more concerned with numbers 11 than the actual students' well-being; is that your 12 feeling also? 13 A. I 100 percent agree with that. Let me add 14 this. I know there's times that I sat down when I 15 first got there, there were counselors telling me what 16 to say and how to say this if a situation came up, you 17 know. I just felt like at that time I thought a lot 18 of times some of the stuff they were saying is wrong, 19 why would you tell a kid that. I know one thing that 20 kids used to do too, complain about, when a counselor 21 put them in they never see the counselor again, they 22 never see the counselor again. One counselor admitted 23 to me once I put them in I don't want to see them 24 anymore. 25 Q. Do you recall that person's name?

19 18937 Henry Antonio Page 19 of 54 1 A. No, I can't remember who that was. Like I 2 said, the names are fading out because I haven't been 3 there in a couple of years. 4 Q. March 2010, it's been two years now? 5 A. Yes, it's been a couple years since I've been 6 there. 7 Q. You indicated that there were some admissions 8 counselors who have been there longer than you that 9 would tell you if a certain situation arises this is 10 what you tell the students. But you didn't feel that 11 it was right to tell them certain things? 12 A. Right. 13 Q. Can you give us an example of some of the 14 things you were told to tell a student that you 15 weren't comfortable with? 16 A. Let me see. It will probably take a minute 17 for me to recall what we used to talk about. 18 Q. That's fine. 19 A. I can't recall anything right at this moment. 20 If it comes to me I'll definitely state it. 21 Q. Are you familiar with the term show 22 meeting? 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. What is a show meeting? 25 A. Show meeting is when you sit down with the

20 18937 Henry Antonio Page 20 of 54 1 director of recruitment, sometimes the director of the 2 campus, the financial aid people, and you sit down and 3 just go over what was done and what has not been done 4 with that student, are they prepared to start school 5 on that certain date. 6 Q. So that was a meeting just amongst the Keiser 7 staff? 8 A. Right. 9 Q. Keiser University staff. And that was to 10 determine the progression of where the student was? 11 A. Just to see if they're prepared to start 12 school on that start date. And if they wasn't then we 13 will progressively get out there and see what we need 14 to do to get it done. 15 Q. What would be some of the things that would 16 prevent a student from being prepared to start during 17 one of these show meetings? 18 A. In they didn't have the application fee, 19 things like that. If they didn't complete the 20 financial aid or if they didn't turn in say like their 21 dad or mom's taxes. Because a lot of these kids were 22 under age and they needed their parents' permission 23 --excuse me -- assistance to go to school. Things 24 like that. 25 Q. And with this show meeting you indicated that

21 18937 Henry Antonio Page 21 of 54 1 if the students -- if they weren't prepared or didn't 2 have the information to get in, then there would be 3 directions given to go out and make sure that that 4 student became -- 5 A. Right. Do what you got to do to get them 6 in. 7 Q. Would that include making additional phone 8 calls to the student? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. Trying to get them to come in and speak to 11 them more? 12 A. Definitely. 13 Q. What about communicating with the parents if 14 you needed to get their information, would it include 15 that as well? 16 A. Whatever we need to do to get that student 17 prepared to go to school, that's what we did. 18 Q. The show meeting, would that also be in line 19 with the quota that the admissions counselors were 20 given also to meet their quotas, they had to get these 21 folks in or attempt to get these folks in? 22 A. That definitely was in line with it, yes, 23 definitely. 24 Q. Now there's been some estimates that there 25 were quotas, monthly quotas of five to 20 students per

22 18937 Henry Antonio Page 22 of 54 1 month. Does that sound to be within the range of the 2 number of students that some admissions counselors 3 were required to bring in per month? 4 A. Right. Because our biggest months were 5 really I think August and September, that's when you 6 really -- it was four months out of the year where the 7 numbers were larger and then the rest of the time the 8 numbers were smaller. Because there were what they 9 call A starts. The A starts had the biggest numbers 10 and that's when you will see the 17 to 20 students per 11 counselor. Because I know one time in August we 12 started 220 students, so you know you had to talk to a 13 lot of people and a lot of work to get that many 14 students in. And that's within -- the class started a 15 month -- but for that class what counselors used to do 16 they used to start recruiting say in June, July just 17 so they can make their quota for that August start. 18 Q. Now would some recruiters sometimes hold back 19 numbers so they can get more start dates for a 20 particular period of time? 21 A. I've seen them do that. 22 Q. So they would prevent a student from 23 enrolling so that they can have higher start numbers 24 for a different period? 25 A. Right. A lot of times what some counselors

23 18937 Henry Antonio Page 23 of 54 1 used to do is if they have a student come through the 2 door and they say I want to start in March, but you 3 know you have a February start starting so when you go 4 to the student you tell the student, look here, I only 5 have one start, February, there might not be another 6 program in March so you need to start now. 7 Q. And that would not be accurate? 8 A. No. 9 Q. That student could actually start in March 10 but because they wanted that student to start in 11 February to get that start they would give them that 12 date and say there's only one slot and you need to get 13 it now? 14 A. Correct. 15 Q. Would that be one of the things that some of 16 the older -- when I say older I mean admissions 17 counselors that have been there longer than you -- is 18 that something that they stated that you could tell 19 students that you didn't feel comfortable with? 20 A. Right. 21 Q. That's one thing that you recall just in this 22 discussion? 23 A. Right. I was the type of person that if a 24 student said they didn't want to start in March -- if 25 the class started in February and they want to start

24 18937 Henry Antonio Page 24 of 54 1 in March, I'll say, okay, start in March. I wasn't 2 going to push them into February when they wasn't 3 ready for it. 4 Q. Right. 5 A. That's probably one of the issues that they 6 had with me because I wasn't as aggressive as a lot of 7 these other counselors. The things that I used to do 8 is, if a student was not ready to go to school I would 9 tell them to go home and think about it and come back 10 and see me. Because I want this decision to be on 11 your own. I don't want no pressure from me, no 12 pressure from -- I used to tell them don't let nobody 13 push you into going to school, this is your decision, 14 this is a lot of money you're about to spend so make 15 the right decision. 16 Q. Now, is it your understanding that other 17 admissions counselors would not take that approach, 18 that instead of allowing that student to go home and 19 think about it a little bit that they would tell them 20 you need to sign up now or it's best that you sign up 21 now because if you don't this opportunity will be 22 missed? 23 A. They used to say that. I had counselors when 24 they get ready to go out, I need this one for the 25 start, let me see if I can slam this one today, I need

25 18937 Henry Antonio Page 25 of 54 1 this number, I got to get this one today. I mean they 2 would put a lot of pressure. Class starts tomorrow, 3 you need to get in there or whatever. They will say 4 whatever they need to get these students in. That's 5 one thing I didn't like, I didn't like that at all. 6 Q. Now moving from the recruiting aspect of the 7 job at Keiser University, there was also an entrance 8 exam that students were required to take? 9 A. Yes, sir, there was an entrance exam. 10 Q. Let me take a step back real quick. Based on 11 what you're testifying to today it sounds as if you 12 were only recruiting for certain programs for Keiser. 13 Were you only recruiting for allied health or medical 14 based fields for Keiser, or were you recruiting for 15 other areas? 16 A. There were different areas. Medical was a 17 big one. We used to get the majority of the calls for 18 nursing. I used to get a lot of calls for nursing, 19 lots and lots of calls for nursing. 20 Q. With regard to the quotas, the quotas were 21 based on students entering any program, or was it 22 students entering into a certain type of program? 23 A. Well, it was based on any certain program. 24 It depends on what program was being offered at that 25 time, too.

26 18937 Henry Antonio Page 26 of 54 1 Q. Now explain that for me a bit? 2 A. Well, I mean if -- what I'm trying to say, if 3 a student came in for nursing and nursing wasn't 4 available, you know, we couldn't enroll them in that 5 class. But what some counselors want to do is, look 6 here, you go into medical assisting now and then at a 7 later time you can jump over to nursing, so they can 8 make that quota, make that goal. 9 Q. So the admissions counselor would make 10 representations to the student that them being in the 11 medical assistant program would put them in line for 12 the nursing program? 13 A. Right. 14 Q. That wasn't necessarily true? 15 A. Right. Because they needed a higher test 16 score. So a lot of times they'll say you go into the 17 medical assistant program that way you can continue to 18 study, retake the entrance exam, if you score high 19 enough then we can try to switch you over. Because a 20 lot of the general classes were in line with the 21 nursing program. 22 Q. Now, as an admissions counselor for Keiser 23 University or for any of the for-profit schools, would 24 you have recommended to a student to pay for a course 25 such as medical assisting that they didn't necessarily

27 18937 Henry Antonio Page 27 of 54 1 need if they really wanted to go into nursing? 2 A. Right. I wouldn't do that, but I've seen it 3 done. And a lot of students were upset about that, 4 they got really upset about that. 5 Q. Because the medical assistant program 6 although it's not a nursing program is still a fairly 7 expensive course? 8 A. Right. It was very expensive. 9 Q. Because this is still a for-profit school and 10 the amount of money that these students are having to 11 pay are in the thousands of dollars? 12 A. Right. 13 Q. Per cycle or per course? 14 A. I think it was quarter, I think they paid by 15 the quarter if I can remember. I think it was almost 16 $7,000 a quarter or something like that. 17 Q. And if they took the medical assistant course 18 and they didn't really need it, that was money that 19 they were out of? 20 A. They couldn't get it back. But to be fair, 21 some students if they did pass the test they get into 22 nursing. A lot of those general classes that they did 23 take will transfer over to the nursing program. So 24 that's the way they made it sound. But they still had 25 to take that test over again. If they took that test

28 18937 Henry Antonio Page 28 of 54 1 and didn't pass they're stuck with medical 2 assistant. 3 Q. And the bill that comes along with it? 4 A. Right. 5 Q. Now, the entrance exam, you mentioned that 6 for certain courses -- or for certain programs, I'm 7 sorry, that the score had to be high enough to get 8 into those programs. Was nursing one of the programs 9 that they required a higher score? 10 A. Right. Nursing was a higher score. 11 Q. With the entrance exams, can you tell us what 12 would happen if a student did not pass that exam? 13 A. If they didn't score high enough they will 14 have to take it again. I think they got three chances 15 to take it. 16 Q. Now, in your experience at Keiser University, 17 did you ever know of any admissions counselors who 18 would assist the students with the exams? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. And assisting them either help them with the 21 answers or would they actually take the test for the 22 students? 23 A. I seen a counselor -- student takes the test, 24 counselor looks at the test, say he or she didn't 25 pass, go tell them they passed and then go in there

29 18937 Henry Antonio Page 29 of 54 1 and retake it for them. 2 Q. Interesting. Now was that something that 3 happened just on one occasion, or did you see it more 4 than once? 5 A. More than once. Because it happened for one 6 of my students. I had a student come from the 7 Virginia Island, she came a long way to get in school, 8 I mean made a special trip just to get in school. She 9 took the test, she did not score high enough. I'm 10 trying to recall this counselor. I talk to this 11 counselor and I say, look, this girl came a long way 12 and she didn't pass this test, what am I to do? Tell 13 her she passed and we'll take care of it later. 14 Q. And the take care of it later, what did that 15 mean? 16 A. That person would go in there and take that 17 test for that student. 18 Q. Did that actually take place in this case? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. And you don't recall the counselor's name? 21 A. No. Like I said, I'm very -- the only one I 22 remember is Vicki's name. Because when I left there I 23 left everybody. I didn't call. There's only one 24 person there that I communicate with right now. I 25 can't even recall if the same counselors are still

30 18937 Henry Antonio Page 30 of 54 1 there. I remember first names, like I remember 2 Emanuel, Mike, but I can't remember too many other 3 people. Because we weren't friends, we were 4 associates, we just worked together. We didn't hang 5 out or any of that. 6 Q. Now, early on in your testimony you indicated 7 that there were some counselors who had been there 8 longer than you who would tell you to do things you 9 didn't agree with. You provided us with information 10 about one of the things they would do in telling the 11 students to go into a different program, whatever the 12 case may be. But in this particular situation where 13 the student didn't pass the exam and the counselor 14 said, well, tell them that they pass and we'll take 15 care of it; was that something else that you were told 16 by an older counselor to do that you didn't agree with 17 at Keiser? 18 A. Well, I guess at that time when you're under 19 pressure you don't think about that because, you know, 20 you're thinking about your job, you're thinking about 21 goals, you're thinking about your quotas, you're just 22 trying to make your monthly start. So at that time 23 you don't really think about that, you just think 24 about, man, I need this number so I can make my 25 monthly start.

31 18937 Henry Antonio Page 31 of 54 1 Q. So it was in retrospect that you look back 2 and realize some of things just weren't proper? 3 A. Right. It wasn't, it was not proper 4 at all. 5 Q. Now in addition to taking the exam for 6 students, the entrance exams so that the students will 7 pass to get into certain programs, do you know if the 8 admissions counselors or someone who administer the 9 exam was able to add points to the student's exam 10 score without taking it for the student? 11 A. The only thing I can recall with that is if a 12 student was missing a point or two they can put in a 13 request to sit down with the director. I think I did 14 that one time and the director can add a point to the 15 student's test if they feel like if they missed it by 16 one or two. 17 Q. Now, was there a request form that went along 18 with that to increase A. Right. You fill out a form, you sit down and 20 talk with the director and I think the director was 21 the one that can add that. But another thing they 22 also added was if a student came in, was at a certain 23 age, they wouldn't have to score as high as the other 24 students. They would give them points for being that 25 certain age.

32 18937 Henry Antonio Page 32 of 54 1 Q. But not just the age base increase, there 2 were also chances that a person who wasn't a certain 3 age, like say 35 or older, that that person could have 4 a point added to their entrance exam with the 5 director's approval? 6 A. Right. 7 Q. As an admissions counselor with Keiser 8 University, did you go through any training? 9 A. You know when I first got there I didn't have 10 training. It was on-the-job training, we learned as 11 we went. The one thing that bothered me about that 12 place was we never was trained. Because I had 13 experience as a recruiter, as an admissions counselor, 14 I guess they assumed I knew what I was doing. But I 15 didn't know their product, I didn't know how they do 16 things there. I mean we had little training, every 17 now and then she'll get us together and talk about 18 certain things. But we never really trained, we never 19 trained, never trained. And to this day I can say I 20 never was trained properly on that job. 21 Q. Now, your position with Keiser University was 22 terminated? 23 A. Right. 24 Q. And do you know or can you tell us why it was 25 that you were terminated?

33 18937 Henry Antonio Page 33 of 54 1 A. Because I missed some monthly starts. 2 Q. So in other words because you didn't meet a 3 certain quota they terminated your position? 4 A. Right. Because I missed a quota. 5 Q. Now you've provided our office with an 6 employee counseling notice, but it has Oasis Group. 7 Is this a counseling notice from Keiser University? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Do you know why they have the Oasis Group 10 there? 11 A. I think they're affiliated with them, I'm not 12 absolutely sure. 13 Q. What does this -- or where on this employee 14 counseling notice will it show us that the reason for 15 this counseling session and what led to your 16 termination was based on missed quotas? 17 A. Let me look at it. I know there's one 18 statement in here that states that Mr. Henry was given 19 a written warning in September 18, 2009, where it was 20 noted that Mr. Henry was not generating a sufficient 21 amount of phone calls to achieve his goals. 22 Q. The generation of phone calls in this notice 23 would be an indication that you were given a quota or 24 that there were a number of people or calls that you 25 were to make in order to meet your quota, correct?

34 18937 Henry Antonio Page 34 of 54 1 A. Right. We were required to make 75 to a 2 hundred calls a day. 3 Q. Was this an in-bound or out-bound calling 4 system? 5 A. Out-bound. And they were able to listen to 6 our calls as well. 7 Q. So based on an out-bound calling system where 8 you -- was it automatic dial where the number would 9 pop up on the screen and you would just call those 10 number, or were you actually given a list to dial? 11 A. I'm trying to recall. We had a list that we 12 called from. I think it was the system recorded 13 in-bound and out-bound. I can't recall, but I know 14 she was able to listen to our calls. 15 Q. And so as best as you can recall, 16 approximately how many admissions counselors were 17 working in your department during the time period that 18 you were there? You can just give me an average 19 number. 20 A. I think it was about 13 maybe, 13, Q. Were they working -- or were you all working 22 eight-hour shifts? 23 A. Right. 24 Q. Were there any second or third shifts, or was 25 it just the one shift from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.?

35 18937 Henry Antonio Page 35 of 54 1 A. Just the one shift, but we had different 2 hours that we came in. A lot of times we had 3 different hours. 4 Q. What was the latest that an admissions 5 counselor would work? 6 A. I think if I recall it was 8 p.m. But some 7 nights we were there later. 8 Q. So based on there being -- I won't hold you 9 to this and I'll actually lower the number just a bit. 10 Based on there being ten admissions counselors in that 11 department, would that number include the assistant 12 directors of recruitment or admissions? 13 A. Right. 14 Q. So based on there being approximately employees at 75 to a hundred calls per day, there were 16 approximately 750 to a thousand calls being made to 17 students on a daily basis? 18 A. Right. 19 Q. Based on that quota? 20 A. Right. And we had a system that tracked our 21 calls. 22 Q. And those calls would be five days a week, or 23 would you have to come in and work on weekends as 24 well? 25 A. Well, some weekends we came in. I know a lot

36 18937 Henry Antonio Page 36 of 54 1 of times if I was behind on my quota I would tell 2 Vicki I'm coming in on Saturday. And I can't recall 3 if I came in on Sunday. 4 Q. Now, when you would come in on a Saturday or 5 a Sunday, would you be paid time-and-a-half? 6 A. No, no. That's your regular time. 7 Q. Even if you had worked your full hours 8 required? 9 A. Right. 10 Q. Were you salaried or were you hourly? 11 A. How did they do those time sheets, I'm trying 12 to think. I think it was salary, but we did put in a 13 time sheet. 14 Q. And so when you would come in on the weekends 15 if you were hourly you weren't paid overtime for 16 that? 17 A. No. I think a lot of time we incorporate it 18 in our hours. Like I say, if we're paid overtime it 19 was half the time, half the pay. So a lot of times we 20 didn't want to stay for overtime because it wasn't 21 worth it. 22 Q. What I'm doing is I'm just doing some quick 23 numbers real quick. So over that five-day period of 24 time there were approximately 3700 to 5,000 calls per 25 week to potential students for Keiser University?

37 18937 Henry Antonio Page 37 of 54 1 A. Right. 2 Q. Over the course of a month that would be 3 between 15,000 and 20,000 calls in a month? 4 A. We made a lot of calls. 5 Q. And this volume of calls was made in order to 6 meet quotas that were established by Keiser 7 University? 8 A. Right. Somebody set this plan saying if you 9 make this many calls a day you have the best 10 opportunity to succeed. But they don't realize some 11 of them calls, like numbers are disconnected, or the 12 phone numbers are wrong, so they didn't know that type 13 of stuff. But the only way we deviated from making to a hundred calls a day is if we were in 15 appointments. If we were in appointments then they 16 know that you can't make 75 to 100 calls a day, so 17 then the call volume would be less. 18 Q. Is there anything else from this employee 19 counseling notice aside from the generated calls that 20 you can point to either from your own memory or that 21 is written in the text that shows that there were 22 quotas that you were given that Keiser University felt 23 that you didn't meet and that led to your 24 termination? 25 A. That's what I'm looking at now. There's one

38 18937 Henry Antonio Page 38 of 54 1 statement that says his performance below the minimum 2 standard conversion for an adult admission counselor. 3 It says Mr. Henry has been provided with a start plan 4 that is based on activity required to yield results in 5 building the university student population. So they 6 say they lay a plan, they say if I make so many calls, 7 if I do this I have a chance to be successful. So 8 they laid out a plan for us. But if they feel like I 9 wasn't using the plan that they set for me that's why 10 I failed. 11 Q. But the plan it sounds like was not based on 12 bringing in just qualified students and that the 13 numbers didn't matter. It sounds like the plan was 14 based more on bringing in as many students as 15 possible. 16 A. Their motto is the more students you talk to 17 the better chance you can get them in. The more phone 18 calls you get the more people you'll talk to. The 19 more people you talk to gives you a better chance of 20 making your goal. 21 Q. Mr. Henry, I've asked you a number of 22 questions today as it relates to your employment at 23 Keiser University and I appreciate your candor and 24 your testimony today. 25 Is there anything else aside from what I've

39 18937 Henry Antonio Page 39 of 54 1 asked you or in conjunction with what I've asked you 2 that has either sparked your memory as to other things 3 that occurred, or is there anything else that you 4 would like to share with me at this time that can 5 assist with this investigation? 6 A. Like I said, the way that they fired me I 7 felt wasn't right because I was there always before 8 everybody and I probably stayed there late. I came in 9 on Saturdays, I took care of my students. I really 10 enjoy working with students, their success was 11 important to me. And I think that's why they probably 12 let me go, because I didn't use the tactics that they 13 wanted me to use to meet their quotas. You know, what 14 was important to me was quality. 15 Right now I stay in contact -- every now and 16 then I talk to a student and she's complaining about 17 the school. I was her counselor and she continues to 18 complain about the school, about things that she's not 19 happy with. So I just hope they turn it around, I 20 really do. Because it's a lot of people complaining 21 about that school. And every now and then I go on the 22 internet just to look and see what's being said about 23 Keiser University, how people are still complaining 24 about it, and they're still complaining. So there's 25 an issue there that definitely needs to be addressed.

40 18937 Henry Antonio Page 40 of 54 1 Q. Once again, I appreciate your time, sir. And 2 the only thing that I would ask is that if there's any 3 additional information that may come to mind or 4 anything additional that you can think of that will 5 assist in this investigation, that you feel 6 comfortable enough to contact our office and provide 7 us with that additional information. 8 A. I will, sir. 9 Q. Thank you for your time. 10 A. Thank you. 11 (Thereupon, the foregoing sworn statement 12 was concluded at 9:50 a.m.)

41 18937 Henry Antonio Page 41 of 54 1 CERTIFICATE OF OATH 2 3 STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF ORANGE 4 5 I, the undersigned authority, certify that 6 Antonio Henry, personally appeared before me and was 7 duly sworn. 8 WITNESS my hand and official seal this 17th 9 day of April, KAREN ALLEN-LEWIN 16 Professional Shorthand Reporter Notary Public - State of Florida 17 My Commission No. DD Expires: July 7, Digital Signature authenticated by Verisign

42 18937 Henry Antonio Page 42 of 54 1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE WITH ACKNOWLEDGMENT 2 3 STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF ORANGE 4 5 I, Karen Allen-Lewin, Court Reporter, 6 certify that I was authorized to and did 7 stenographically report the foregoing proceedings and 8 that the transcript is a true record of the 9 proceedings I Further Certify that I am not a relative, 12 employee, or attorney, or counsel of any of the 13 parties, nor am I a relative or employee of any of the 14 parties' attorney or counsel connected with the 15 action, nor am I financially interested in the action DATED this 23rd day of April, KAREN ALLEN-LEWIN, 21 Court Reporter, Notary Public Digital Signature authenticated by Verisign 24 25