ITT Tech Schools Close Leaving 35,000 Students In Debt And Without Degrees

Welp, it finally happened.

Another for-profit college has gone bust, leaving tens of thousands of students in the lurch.

ITT Educational Services announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down its more than 100 ITT Technical Institute campuses immediately, accusing the federal government of unfairly stripping it of eligibility for student aid.

It’s an abrupt move that will impact 35,000 students who are currently taking classes on campuses and online throughout the United States. Many of them are now left without a degree and saddled with student debt.

ITT said it also eliminated the jobs of the “overwhelming majority” of more than 8,000 employees on Tuesday.

Last week, the Department of Education barred the school from allowing any new students to use federal loans to pay for ITT — and the school promptly stopped new enrollment.

This action did not affect Daniel Webster College, a school in New Hampshire owned by ITT. That campus remains open to its 700 students, but it will be “difficult” for the school to keep operating without the parent company’s support, the president said in an email to students Tuesday.

ITT accused federal officials of forcing the closure and denying it due process.

But the company has been the subject of state and federal probes for years over its recruitment tactics, lending practices and job placement figures.

In order to have access to federal student loans, schools need to be accredited by a government-recognized accrediting agency. ITT Educational Services was found to be out of compliance with its accreditor’s standards twice this year, according to the Department of Education.

Enrollment in for-profit schools increased in the years following the recession when job growth was weak and people were looking to hone their skills or switch to more in-demand careers.

For-profit schools tend to enroll students who rely heavily on federal student aid in the form of grants, loans and military benefits. Without that aid, many students wouldn’t be able to go.

Truthfully, I am surprised they were able to keep the ~~scam~~ school going for as long as they did. I don’t know one real person that ever attended ITT Tech. Do you?

Read the rest of this artcile: ITT Tech Schools Close; Thousands of Students Left in the Lurch — KTLA

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