> Our lawyers have advised us that, to preempt any possible cease and desist order which could negatively impact our ability to teach going forward, we must discontinue operating our web development program immediately.

If the government agency involved thought the now-halted activities ought to be regulated, wouldn't they send a C&D letter anyway, at the conclusion of their investigation? I mean, if a company can avoid the regulatory consequences of past actions by shutting down operations for a few weeks or months during of an investigation, isn't that a loophole big enough to make the regulators totally irrelevant?

Let me be clear: Bitmaker Labs sounds legitimate (based solely on their linked statement). But either their lawyers are giving bad advice, or the laws themselves don't make sense. Disclaimer: IANAL.

I just wrote a post about this bullshit here:

http://hackertourism.com/bitmaker-labs/

> We have always been transparent about our lack of accreditation and the unconventional nature of our program. As you know, we don’t issue grades, track attendance, or provide diplomas, certificates or degrees.

If they're not marketing themselves as a college, and are up-front about their lack of accreditation, how can they be regulated as one?

Here's an article, about the shutdown, interviewing co-founder Matt Gray.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/ca...

Move it to the USA!