Touchy problem - would like to bump heads

Friends, writers, AWians; lend me your ears (and words).

Situation, part 1: A local artist has been teaching a for-fun drawing class where I work. The classes will be over in mid-April. A young man who has been attending arrived at the notion that he might continue the class.

Situation, part 2: Aside from the fact that this cute goth (who reminds me of my MC, omg) has no credentials whatsoever and no real training (I have more than enough to know), I am now concerned that he may be getting himself and his family into big financial trouble.

He came in today to bookmark his website (squick!) so that we-the-staff could see his artwork and read his plans for the course. Because he mis-remembered his password, he had to go through a goodly runaround that involved contacting the online college that he is taking a course from. That is how I know a lot more than I did before. (My motto, "I don't ask questions, I just find out", proves its worth many times.)

When I got home, I immediately began to goog up info about the school. It has physical campuses in many locations as well as a large web curriculum. It also has lawsuits, dozens of posts on ripoffreport.com, and horror stories by former students and staff in enough other forums, etc., to be scary.

The impression I get is that it is heavy on recruitment and light on admission standards. A recurring theme is a demand for more money just when the student is on the edge of a degree. Another is that a degree from this institution is not worth a whole lot, and the course material is puny.

Problem, part 1: We-the-staff and board members have to tell him NO tactfully and redirect him to some other outlet. He does have natural ability, but he needs disciplined training in order to realize it. Taking an online course in animation from Unnamed College is only going to suck thousands of dollars. Which leads to...

Problem, part 2: I need to explain to him and everyone else involved that he is hip-deep in potential do-do with no likelihood of getting anything useful for the money. His family is not rich!

Owooooooo!

BardSkye --that is part of my proposed strategy, but I need to work on my opening line. LOL - I need a hook.

I don't want to discourage him from using the facility. I will bounce it off some local heads tomorrow. Part of my personal prob with this is that I am a trained artist and a lot of the regulars don't know it -- that can rub fur the wrong way, I don't want to come off sounding 2 l33t.

where I work

(and I'm the webmistress too)

all (oops, sorry, Fizz! I'll keep it catz-free, anyway)

I talked to a couple of people at work, and we are all plotting our strategies. Next art session is Tuesday. I'm not on that day but I will drop in and try to generate some conversation.

I know that he has to be in some kind of school -- don't ask -- and how his tuition is paid -- don't ask -- and it motivates me even more to get him on a healthier road to the future.

Artists and writers have the same problems with getting started. Some manage just fine, some are slow to take, some are in too much of a hurry to get to the top without all the walking. All deal with self-doubt in a variety of ways.