Stevens Transport - updated training info & a couple questions

I've spoken with a recruiter in Houston, and, pending the background checks, should be set to start school on 1/14 at the Lone Star campus in Houston.

I've seen a ton of info on here about training, but as of three weeks ago, they have changed some details from what I've read on here.

Instead of the $4,200 school cost (I've seen others, varies with age of the post) which is paid back through an interest-free loan, the school costs $6,500, which is immediately due if I leave within a year. Should I complete a year, however, they do not require repayment. I do consider this a better deal, since I already planned to do a year, and the other terms also included immediate repayment for leaving earlier. A loan is still issued for room, board, and bus if needed. My question on this is whether I should worry about being, say, let go at 11 months for a small reason that wouldn't normally result in firing, thus being screwed into paying for the school, as well as losing the job without the experience most non-training companies require.

Instead of $350/week during training others have posted, after school I will receive $400/week. Again, this is likely part of their recent changes. I'm, of course, happy with this.

The orientation II is now gone. Instead of the normal 5 week training, Orientation II, then finishing training or trainee teams, they now have a computer system. After school, I will be watching videos and answering questions on a computer during the trainer phase, and after only 5 weeks, I will begin the grad phase. The new system covers the second orientation's material. I'm not sure what to think of this change, so I'd like others' opinions.

Other than these items, everything else seemed to line up with my expectations after doing research on here and truckingtruth. I'd mentioned that the quality of training is my main reason for choosing Steven's, and the recruiter pulled up the DOT's stats on companies, showing that Steven's was ~40% on safety violations, and other training companies I named for comparison were 70-85%. The HOS compliance was under 5% for Steven's, and the other companies were at least 20%. He explained this as how much time you have to wait on a load, but I'm fairly sure it means the culture leans towards fudging logbooks. On this note, is it expected to log time waiting for lumpers or to dock as sleeper time? I'm not sure if that's worded correctly, since I've only read online without knowing the practical results of the HOS rules.

Thank you in advance for any responses. I hope this post and others' answers will help another candidate as much as this forum has helped me.

 

Thank y'all for your replies.

Well, since Steven's sponsors the cost, and unless I leave early, I don't have to pay it back, I don't think I should need any help with it.

This is awesome to know. I was worried about the contradicting pressures to keep rolling and stay compliant, but it sounds like that won't be an issue.

This is also great to know. I obviously don't plan to make mistakes, but it's nice to know that their incentives are aligned with keeping me on.

I'm glad it's an improvement. It certainly will let me double-check my trainer, and if there's something I'm not understanding in the courses, I can ask him. I'm not too worried about getting the procedures and material down, since I'm pretty book-smart and pick things up quickly; I'm much more concerned with turns and backing.