ITT Tech Closing all Campuses Immediately

[Fish]

Leaving all current students SOL weeks into the fall session. Ouch....



ITT Tech Is Officially Closing

ITT Technical Institute is officially closing all of its campuses following federal sanctions imposed against the company. The for-profit college announced the changes in a statement:

“It is with profound regret that we must report that ITT Educational Services, Inc. will discontinue academic operations at all of its ITT Technical Institutes permanently after approximately 50 years of continuous service. With what we believe is a complete disregard by the U.S. Department of Education for due process to the company, hundreds of thousands of current students and alumni and more than 8,000 employees will be negatively affected.”

The announcement comes just one week after ITT Tech stopped enrolling students following a federal crackdown. ITT Tech and other for-profit colleges have been widely criticized for accepting billions of dollars in government grants and loans while failing to provide adequate job training for its students. Last year, ITT Tech received an estimated $580 million in federal money (aka taxpayer dollars), according to the Department of Education.

One week after ITT Tech was prohibited from accepting federal aid, the whole company shut down. The swift closure of all of its campuses should indicate exactly how far the company went to recruit students using federal aid. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with providing federal loans to students who are seeking higher education, but ITT Tech often went a step further: The company’s recruiters preyed on students who didn’t understand the lifelong burden of debt and shouldn’t have been seeking a technical degree.

A report from The Atlantic recently revealed that “students pursuing bachelor’s and associate’s degrees at for-profit colleges saw their earnings drop, compared to before they started the program.” The reason is because students at for-profit colleges are less likely to finish their degrees, have a higher risk of living in poverty, and students often become burdened by debt without learning any new technical skills.

The sanctions imposed against ITT Technical Institute last week were described by many experts as a “death sentence.” The sanctions prevented ITT Tech from receiving any federal aid for tuition and also required ITT Tech to increase its cash reserves from $94.4 million to $247.3 million. The cash reserves were created to help support students in case the company closed. Now that ITT Tech is officially closed, the company is not saying how it will use its reserves. In an email to Gizmodo, a company spokesperson said, “Please see today’s press release. This will be our only comment.”

ITT Tech’s decision to close down its campuses comes after Labor Day weekend, during which many of the faculty members and students at the company’s campuses felt completely out of the loop. “Labor Day gives us a time to pause and spend time with our family,” said ITT Tech CEO Kevin Modany an internal email sent on Friday. “As we close out the end of our June quarter, we’d like to extend that time by giving all employees Tuesday, September 6th off as an extra comp holiday.”

In the same email, Modany also indicated that the company’s demise could happen at any moment. “As you may know, we have contacted the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to request their consideration of possible alternatives to ED’s additional requirements,” he said. “However, we cannot provide any assurance that the ED will respond to our requests in a favorable manner. There is a possibility that we could hear something at any time. As such, we ask that you check your email regularly for updates. If you do not have access to email, please check with your Supervisor.”

ITT Technical Institute employees and students have been confused by the company’s opaque emails and lack of communication. During the holiday weekend, my inbox was filled with messages from faculty and students pleading for more information. “No one knows what’s going on,” said one faculty member. “There is no communication to the staff,” said another.

Students also wrote to Gizmodo, saying they were scared about their future. For example, we received this message on Friday, after our story was published. Here’s what the individual said:

I am a current student at ITT. Went to campus today to study and was kicked out. The dean stated they were closing campus early for the holiday. I sat in the parking lot and watched staff go in and clear out personal affects. Boxes, shopping bags full of things. One instructor brought lunch to campus and several people just left upset. Word is some people were let go to save money towards the 100 million the school has to put in escrow to stay open, other rumor is its prep for the shut down. Not sure what’s happening and have tried calling the CEO of corporate to get answers because I am one of several students that are suppose to graduate 9/29. Scared to death we won’t get to before graduation.

If you’re a student who currently or formerly attended ITT Tech, not all hope is lost. The Department of Education has provided resources to current and former students in a blog post that may answer some of the immediate questions you have. The DOE is also directing students to this Federal Student Aid announcement page, where its providing information to current and former students who have Title IV-related questions.

[Donger]

What about DeFry? is that still open?

[The Franchise]

Doesn't mean shit until the government does something about the massive debt that these students have.

I got my degree from a for-profit college and they're closed down now. Luckily for me....I was able to use the fact that I had a bachelors degree and turn that into the job I have now (which has nothing to do with my degree) but I'm still saddled with $60k in student loan debt.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by Fish

There’s nothing wrong with providing federal loans to students who are seeking higher education, but ITT Tech often went a step further: The company’s recruiters preyed on students who didn’t understand the lifelong burden of debt and shouldn’t have been seeking a technical degree.

I wish that same standard applied to all colleges/universites who provide worthless degrees.

[Hamwallet]

I got my certificate in my technical field from a for profit school that no longer offers my course. I never even picked up my certificate and 14 years later nobody has ever asked to see it either. Mine was paid for by the government through vocational rehabilitation though.

[eDave]

[Dunit35]

I got $26k in student loan debt (down to $8k) with a degree I don't use. My work pays me $92 a month for the degree, so it pays half my monthly loan bill.

[Rain Man]

I actually saw them as one of the most legitimate for-profit schools. Either I was wrong or it shows just how bad for-profit schools are.

[Pushead2]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I actually saw them as one of the most legitimate for-profit schools. Either I was wrong or it shows just how bad for-profit schools are.

I'm sort of in the same boat, opinion wise.

I was curious about ITT back in the day when I stopped playing music, but I ended up just going to CUNY because a lot of people were iffy about it.

I absolutely feel bad for this student in the article:

"......Not sure what’s happening and have tried calling the CEO of corporate to get answers because I am one of several students that are suppose to graduate 9/29. Scared to death we won’t get to before graduation."

[BleedingRed]

I went in to one years ago, saw the kids that were in it. Walked right out, I knew it was a waste of time right away.

[kcfanXIII]

I went there, received a degree, and got a job in the field I was studying. My opinion is right in line with this article though. I saw probably 85% of my class mates drop the program during the 19 months it takes to get the degree. I spent over half my time in "Fluff" classes like "How to be a technical professional" and "group theory." I also took two composition classes that were taught at a high school level. The first one, I would literally sleep through. I made sure my instructor saw me put my headphones in, and go to sleep. It pissed him off when I finished with a 98%. The second one, I told the "professor" that I needed him to grade me at a collegiate level. I didn't care if he was harder on me than any of the other students, and I expected my papers to be marked up with red ink. Still got an A in that class. The best part was, I had to write at least 6 resumes, and every time the teacher said "I'll show you the right way..." I ended up using the first one I wrote, sent it to one company, got an interview, and the job I wanted with the company I wanted to work for. While I am a success story, I'm happy to see them closed down. Too many people were taken advantage of, just because they wanted to improve their life.

[kcfanXIII]

eDave, I saw your comment before you deleted it. While I understand why you would do that, I don't think you should disregard their resume based on that alone. I also wouldn't grant the interview based on that alone.

[Msmith]

I talked a relative of mine who worked for ITT until he got lay off around April. From his point of view, the Fed wanted ITT to prepare the full amount of $200 million within a year which ITT could only come up with $90 mil in cash. The Fed won't accept asset. That forced ITT to close. The 90 mil would go to pay off the student loans. The rest will be picked up by the taxpayers.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Doesn't mean shit until the government does something about the massive debt that these students have.

I got my degree from a for-profit college and they're closed down now. Luckily for me....I was able to use the fact that I had a bachelors degree and turn that into the job I have now (which has nothing to do with my degree) but I'm still saddled with $60k in student loan debt.

Why should the government and taxpayer be on the hook for your student loan debt? Nobody forced you to go to college and take out loans for a worthless degree. YOU DID THAT.

Fact is, the idea that everybody needs a college degree is a complete joke. I can understand going to college for stuff like Engineering, Doctoring or Lawyering, but the youth have been indoctrinated to believe that somehow a Basket Weaving degree or some other worthless endeavor of a degree will somehow benefit them and afford them a quality job.

Take responsibility for your own actions, crybaby.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Why should the government and taxpayer be on the hook for your student loan debt? Nobody forced you to go to college and take out loans for a worthless degree. YOU DID THAT.

Fact is, the idea that everybody needs a college degree is a complete joke. I can understand going to college for stuff like Engineering, Doctoring or Lawyering, but the youth have been indoctrinated to believe that somehow a Basket Weaving degree or some other worthless endeavor of a degree will somehow benefit them and afford them a quality job.

Take responsibility for your own actions, crybaby.

First off...I never said the government should cover my student loan debt. I'm paying mine off because I have a job. But go look at these students who got 3/4 of the way through school and now have nothing to show for it but debt.