Founded in 1969, ITT Tech operated more than 130 campuses in 38 states. There are two ITT Tech campuses in South Florida.
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Days before those sanctions were announced, ITT Tech’s accreditor reported the chain had failed to meet several basic standards and was unlikely to comply in the future. That move forced ITT Tech to close all of its campuses, including the ones in Earth City and Arnold.
“I don’t want to start over with a new loan, I already got $23,000 on me”, ITT student Maria Arcuaga said. ITT was also told that it must increase its reserves from $94.4 million to $247.3 million, or 40 percent of federal student aid the company received in 2015. “We have staff and faculty prepared to advise students on registration, enrollment and course curriculum”, said Dr. Michelle Howard-Vital, Executive VP and Provost of FMU.
“I had an idea when they said they were going to ban all new students, from coming in, so I kind of had that notion”, Miller said “But I was hoping”.
The Department of Education said ITT’s creditor, Accrediting Counselor for Independent Colleges and Schools, ACICS, said ITT is not in compliance with criteria to stay accredited.
Just past year, for-profit Heald College in Honolulu shuttered its doors after its parent company Corinthian College was fined $30 million by the government for misleading students. About 45,000 students were enrolled in ITT programs in 2015.
“First of all, cancel all payments to the school”, Healey said.
Late Tuesday afternoon, we heard that some students have been talking with other schools, including ECPI and American National University, but it’s still unclear if credits will transfer. ITT Educational Services says it was forced to take the action after the U.S. Department of Education issued sanctions August 25, including a ban on enrolling new students who rely on federal financial aid. Students who left ITT within the past six months will be eligible to have their loans forgiven.
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The education department says ITT had more than 130 campuses nationwide in 38 states, and that it had 45,000 enrolled students past year.
