Much has been written about the staggering cost of student loan debt and the negative impact and drag on the US economy. “Academic Betrayal: The Bullying of a Graduate Student” authored by Loren Mayshark, is an expose of atrocious (lesser known) educational fraud. In 2008, Mayshark enrolled at Hunter College aspiring to earn a M.A. degree in their advertised two year 30 credit graduate degree program. By 2015, Mayshark realized he had no option but to resign from the program. The degree he had spent six years and tens of thousands in educational expenses to attain was only a mirage.

After successfully completing his BA in history from Manhattanville College in Westchester, N.Y. Mayshark moved to San Francisco, C.A. and became interested in Latin American people and culture. With a girlfriend, he traveled to South America where he spent 6 months learning and practicing the Spanish language and observing local lifestyles and customs. Mayshark enthusatically decided to improve his employment prospects with a goal of completing a graduate degree, teaching as an adjunct professor in Latin American History-- a PhD in History might have followed.

Following Mayshark’s acceptance at Hunter College, there were many deliberate set-backs and obstacles in the way that blocked what should have been a simple enrollment process to begin classes. As he began his graduate school experience, he would eventually find himself ensnared in an academic “intellectual prison.” Mayshark maintained a 3.6 GPA, his first two theses were outright rejected without concrete reasons or explanations. The reasons for the failure were placed solely on him without further options or recourse by the professor supposedly working with and mentoring him. In addition, Mayshark provided exact documentation with times and dates and other important details that supported his version of the story.

Since Mayshark had already spent tremendous amounts of time and great expense on the degree, he accepted an offer from another professor who declared: “We have failed you.” Mayshark had studied Colonial Latin America with this professor, and was encouraged to try again. Taking no chances for failure, he hired a professional editor before presenting the drafts of his theses, and another professor from a different school checked his work and found it suitable for submission. The closer he got to graduation however, the expectations and rules would change, fees to maintain matriculation continued, and expenses mounted with no degree in sight.

One of the most notable intellectuals in the world Noam Chomsky, observed “How America’s Great University System is Getting Destroyed” (essay) that highlight the corporatization of American higher education, where the focus is not on our students, but rather is a system engineered favoring corporate interests. Later, Mayshark met with Professor Lebowitz, the only adjunct professor at Hunter where he had established a genuine connection, he discovered that Lebowitz along with others, had been forced out of their positions, contracts were not renewed due to political reasons having nothing to do with academics. All calls and email inquiries were ignored by Hunter president Terry Daub.
Mayshark is advocating for more oversight and accountability in higher education for student rights, as he continues to share his shocking story. ~ With thanks to the author via NetGalley for the direct e-copy for the purpose of review.