ITT Technical Institutes operates 130 campuses in 38 states, including two campuses in San Antonio.
Advertisement
In a statement released Tuesday, the company blamed the U.S. Department of Education for its closure, saying, “the actions of and sanctions from” the department had forced it to cease operations.
Last week, the education department banned the for-profit college from enrolling new students who use federal financial aid. The government’s reasoning is that ITT Tech failed to properly get accredited by a government-recognized accrediting agency. Information is available at the Education Department’s ITT website or by calling the loan servicer.
The education department also has prohibited ITT from awarding its executives any pay raises or bonuses, and it must develop “teach-out” plans that would help current students finish their programs at other colleges if the chain shuts down.
Almost 8,000 employees lost their jobs and 35,000 students are looking for a new college.
Cincinnati State said it’s offering free educational coaching and a review of students’ academic credits, career goals and financial aid status. But if those credits are transferred to the same program of studies at another school, the loans for the ITT credits would not be eligible to be forgiven, Mitchell said.
The feds criticized ITT for taking billions of dollars in government grants and loans and not providing students with substantial training to land trade jobs after graduation.
Many of these students have already paid their tuition for the semester, and they are now questioning what will happen.
According to documents, 8,000 employees were terminated on September 6 as part of the institute closing, giving them less than 60 days of notice.
Advertisement
“Our focus and priority with our remaining staff is on helping the tens of thousands of unexpectedly displaced students with their records and future educational options”, the statement said. Nunez said she was working on a degree in cyber security and could not believe the news from the school and just had to go to the campus to see for herself.
