Devschool online coding bootcamp instructor and founder Jim O'Kelly has suddenly disappeared. Moreover, he brought with him about $100,000 of the students' tuition money.
Inc. reported that students were surprised and concerned when O'Kelly was silent on Slack, the program that the instructor uses to teach students how to code. He was able to post a snippet of code on the group at 10:45 a.m. PT. However, after that, no one could contact him anymore.
The students wondered where Jim O'Kelly could be. The Devschool online coding bootcamp instructor is notorious for his quick temper and was described as a quirky fellow. He may have been a bit strange but students knew that he was always accessible online.
Some students who were scheduled for a lecture that day were angry to find that they have been stood up by O'Kelly. Others, though, were concerned.
"We were thinking maybe there's a family emergency or maybe he's sick," 26-year-old Jane Lundgren of Las Vegas, said. Lundgren enrolled in the online school last April.
The next day, O'Kelly still did not show up for his scheduled appointments with the students. They could not contact him since he would not answer their phone calls or emails.
Lundgren added that the students did not want to believe that O'Kelly had deserted them. She paid $5,988 in tuition. Another student, Candy Davis, had paid $5,488 to enroll in the Devschool online coding bootcamp.
O'Kelly's assistant revealed to the students that the instructor had changed the passwords of the school's bank accounts. Students then began their search for Jim O'Kelly, taking screenshots of their Slack conversations as well as the website and email exchanges. Authorities have been told about the incident.
While enrolling in online colleges may seem risky, there are still advantages to it. It is more convenient since students just need to turn on their computers and they're in class already. They may also be able to gain experience and education simultaneously with online education.
