Now, I have to find a new school to start going to. In 2015, more than two-thirds of all ITT Tech students utilized federal student aid. The department is also deciding whether to cut ties with the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, the group that accredited ITT and Corinthian.
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Ted Mitchell, Department of Education undersecretary, said: “We just didn’t see that there was a path forward providing a quality education to the students of ITT Tech”.
The ITT Tech shutdown comes as a shock to some people as there were 45,000 students enrolled in ITT Technical Institutes past year, bringing in revenue of $850 million, the LA Times said. ITT Educational Services was found to be out of compliance with its accreditor’s standards twice this year, according to the Department of Education. When we made that decision, we did not take it lightly.
The shutdown affected 40,000 students and 8,000 employees.
He also urged the department to inform students they have the option to refuse a planned “teach-out” – in which students are offered the opportunity to finish their ITT education at a designated alternate school – and instead seek forgiveness of their outstanding federal student loans through the Closed School Discharge program. “Looking at all of the risk factors, it’s clear that we need increased financial protection and that it simply would not be responsible or in the best interest of students to allow ITT to continue enrolling new students who rely on federal student aid funds”. Current students or those who had withdrawn in the past 120 days can apply to have their federal loans wiped away.
“When we have received inquiries from regulators, we have always been responsive and cooperative”.
Some students are hopeful their credits will transfer to another agency. One: keep paying their loans and transfer their credits somewhere else.
Both of these options have pros and cons, depending on your unique circumstances, so it is important that you consider your specific situation carefully.
The Education Department has a website, studentaid.gov/ITT, with more information and plans to host webinars on Wednesday.
As is the case for any student, the department said it would accept claims under a “borrower defense to repayment” on an individual basis. Higher education remains the clearest path to economic opportunity and security.
However the horror of finding out years of education and money are possibly wasted, some students are finding a bit of humor in the announcement.
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Former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has also called for more oversight of ITT and other for-profit colleges.
