In a press release, the large for-profit college system says it will not be offering a September quarter to students, citing sanctions from the U.S. Department of Education as cause for ceasing operations.
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The company, which operates vocational schools, announced “with profound regret” in a statement Tuesday that it is ending academic operat.
“They should have paid more attention to what’s going on in their own business and what’s going on with the students”, said Ricardo Lara, ITT Tech student.
The ITT Tech shutdown comes as a shock to some people as there were 45,000 students enrolled in ITT Technical Institutes a year ago, bringing in revenue of $850 million, the LA Times said.
Department Undersecretary Ted Mitchell, however, said ITT never made a formal proposal, and that the department’s “informal conversations” with potential buyers had failed.
Education Department leaders are also urging community colleges to contact ITT students and welcome qualified students.
ITT Educational Services Inc said it would discontinue operations at its ITT Technical Institutes, in line with the U.S. Department of Education’s directive, affecting more than 8,000 employees.
The shutdown stems from the federal education department’s sanctions issued in August that prohibited ITT Technical Institutes from enrolling students who relied on federal loans and grants in addition to other financial oversight limits.
That’s because ITT and other for-profit schools depend on federal student aid for nearly all of their revenue.
The fall semester has just begun on most college campuses, but tens of thousands of students in 38 states were told today that, instead, their college is closing its doors. Last month, the government announced students on federal aid wouldn’t be allowed to enroll at ITT, which has been accused of misleading students about the quality of the education they’ll receive and the job prospects they’ll have after graduation. Both are officially closed.
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“We’re the ones getting punished by this, not the shareholders for ITT Tech”, Cooley said. “I have no doubt that our decision to take action was the right one in service of these goals”.
