IU freshman Elliott Elston didn’t want a bad grade.
It was the first day of his accounting class at the Kelley School of Business this spring, when a recruiter came in with a pitch: he easily could make thousands of dollars and build his own business and career in just a few months with their company, College Works Painting.
Then, he was handed a paper form asking for his information. He was hesitant but filled it out — all of his peers were doing the same.
“It’s your first class of the semester,” Elston said. “He had the floor. I don’t want a bad grade or whatnot.”
Elston said that the recruiter came into his business presentation class the next day and gave the same pitch. He became skeptical of the company and did not fill out another form.
“He noticed me pass all of them back and he pulls another one out of his pocket and puts it on the desk right in front of me,” Elston said. “And this was when I was like okay, something is definitely off, he’s like really jamming these papers. Something is definitely not right.”
It left a bad taste in his mouth — and he wasn’t alone. In interviews with the Indiana Daily Student, several students at the Kelley School of Business said they felt misled by the company’s recruiting, interviewing and employment processes. They shared experiences that College Works Painting President Sean Phelps said directly conflict the company’s existing policies and practices.
On Jan. 23, Dan Li, Kelley’s executive associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, told the school’s faculty in an email, obtained by the IDS, that companies not associated with IU are prohibited from collecting any personal information from students. It’s unclear if this directive resulted from complaints surrounding College Works Painting, and a Kelley School of Business spokesperson declined to provide more information.
But damage to students and the school is already done, some students said.
IU sophomore Isaac Knight had heard the familiar pitch from College Works recruiters several times. But after going through the interview process, he was skeptical of the claim that he would gain hands-on -experience and make thousands of dollars.
“They just kind of sell the idea of being an entrepreneur and owning your own business,” Knight said. “But really, it’s all falsetto for their pyramid scheme. It’s a recruitment scam.”
What is College Works Painting?
College Works Painting is active in 13 states, including Indiana, according to its website. The company commonly recruited students by sending representatives to hand out forms with the company’s logo in classes throughout IU’s campus, frequenting business and management courses in the Kelley School of Business.
The company trains interns to manage a team of employees throughout the summer and tasks them with identifying and leading home painting projects in designated areas, according to its website.
In an interview with the IDS, College Works Painting President Sean Phelps described the internship as a leadership and business development opportunity.
“We train high-achieving college students to learn how to run a real business, and students aren’t just observing or shadowing, they get to help operate the business,” Phelps said.
According to College Works Painting’s website, the company’s profit structure is commission based. They provide “training, marketing materials, licensing, accounting, and customer service” to interns and take a portion of their earnings.
Phelps said the interview process is thorough and competitive. Prospective interns go through multiple rounds of meetings with College Works Painting and meet with past interns to determine if they are the best fit for the opportunity.
Phelps said College Works Painting provides the business structure, training and financial backing for students to succeed throughout the opportunity and that the interns take on no financial risk.
“Students are guaranteed to earn money if they work here, and there’s no financial risk whatsoever to the student,” Phelps said.
However, this wasn’t the case for IU senior Jacquelyn Swanson, who trained and interned with the company last summer. By the end of her experience, she said she’d lost about $1,100.
Swanson said that during her time with College Works Painting, the company tasked her with recruiting and managing a team of employees to paint houses. Bbut said she did not receive adequate support or training from the company and struggled to be successful, often working 16-hour days. She said she asked her supervisor frequently to come to her painting work sites in Bloomington and help her solve challenges with production. Despite her requests, Swanson said her supervisor only came once, on a day Swanson was out sick.
Additionally, Swanson alleged she had to purchase project materials on her own. To pay her rent, she’d have to use drawdowns from the company, a process used by interns to manage living and project expenses until their business becomes profitable.
When marketing, Swanson said the company directed her to knock on each house in an assigned neighborhood. She said if she did not knock on certain doors, such as doors with “No soliciting” signs, her supervisor at the company asked her why she did not contact the homeowner.
“They blatantly make you feel bad about not being able to produce,” Swanson said.
In an interview with the IDS, Phelps said Swanson’s experiences — purchasing project materials on her own and door-knocking at homes with “No soliciting” signs — run against what the company advises.
“If someone feels like they worked here and they weren’t compensated or something,” Phelps said. “Reach out to me. If they were truly wronged, I want to take care of it.”
Phelps said students should know they are filling out information for College Works recruitment and encouraged potential applicants to research the opportunity themselves.
“We don’t want anyone to feel pressured to want to participate in the internship,” Phelps said.
IU Director of Computer Skills at the Kelley School of Business Brant Moriarity said in the interest of preserving class time, he does not allow representatives from College Works or other businesses to come into his classes.
Moriarity said the opportunity could be good for some students. However, he said that his perspective comes in the interest of safeguarding students from “data mining and collection and deceptive marketing.”
Swanson, on the other hand, wants students to know about the risks.
“From what I’ve seen with this upcoming season, I worry for the students at IU,” Swanson said. “I just wish they wouldn’t be taking advantage of students who don’t know what they’re doing.”
