(KMJ/AP) The for-profit college chain ITT Technical Institute is shutting down its campuses days after the U.S. Department of Education banned it from enrolling new students who use federal financial aid.
The company, which operates vocational schools, announced “with profound regret” in a statement Tuesday that it is ending academic operations at all of its more than 130 campuses across 38 states, including the Clovis campus.
The company, based in Carmel, Indiana says its move will have an impact on hundreds of thousands of students and alumni as well as more than 8,000 employees.
ITT Educational Services says it was forced to take the action after the U.S. Department of Education issued sanctions Aug. 25, including a ban on enrolling new students who rely on federal financial aid.
ITT 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 (taxpayer) dollars, according to the Department of Education.
About 35,000 students are affected by the closure. According to College View, the school size at the Clovis campus was about 400 students. Classes were set to begin next Monday, September 12th.
