We are Maestro students, and we demand a fair path to graduation after putting so many hours of hard work into our degree programs. 

Who are we addressing?

The Executive Committee of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) and Maestro Leadership

What’s the problem? 

We, the students of Maestro College, were shocked and devastated to learn that the Council on Occupational Education (COE) has voted to drop our institution’s accredited status effective October 13, 2026. For many of us, this decision falls several months into our program as we were nearing graduation and our hopeful transition into the workforce.  

We have poured hundreds  of hours of hard work, sleepless nights, and significant financial resources into our education. We did our part. We met our academic standards. Now, through no fault of our own, we’re potentially facing the catastrophic loss of our credits, our degrees, and our financial safety.

The regulatory dispute between the COE and Maestro centers on institutional enrollment structures and operational compliance—including rules requiring a 25% physical campus instruction threshold. While the accreditors and the administration debate legacy frameworks versus online models, the students are the ones being left behind as collateral damage.  

We cannot be used as leverage in a regulatory standoff. Our futures are on the line.

What are we demanding?

We are calling on both the COE Commission and Maestro College leadership to prioritize consumer protection and student equity immediately by taking the following actions:

1. Guarantee an Explicit Teach-Out Plan: If the COE’s decision is upheld during the September review process, we demand a legally binding, fully realized Teach-Out Agreement. This plan must allow students who are more than one semester in to cleanly finish their program or transfer 100% of their earned credits to a fully accredited partner institution without additional financial burden.

2. Equitable Consideration During the Appeal: We urge the COE Executive Committee to consider the severe human impact on the current student body during the upcoming September review. We request that student testimonies regarding the rigor of our curriculum and our interactions with institutional mentors be formally accepted and weighed during the reconsideration process.  

3. Total Transparency from Maestro Leadership: We demand that university leadership provide weekly, transparent updates regarding the progress of the August 2nd legal filings and concrete backup paths for every cohort.

Why does this matter so much? 

Higher education is meant to be a pathway to upward mobility. We chose an innovative model to better our lives and fit our education into real-world demands. Stripping an institution's accreditation right as so many students are well into their degree program without securing a safe harbor for them is an administrative failure of student protection.  

Sign this petition to demand that the COE and Maestro College protect their students and guarantee our path to graduation, whether it be through the grounds of getting their accreditation back, or creating a safety plan for us.

Thank you all so much!