Print

[Emon_Toelz]

The New York Times has it in full. Except for some important details.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/business/itt-educational-services-closes-its-campuses.html

Quote

"ITT Educational Services Closes Campuses
By PATRICIA COHENSEPT. 6, 2016

Just days before the start of a new school term, ITT Educational Services, one of the nation’s largest for-profit educational companies, closed nearly all its campuses on Tuesday.

The company cited the Education Department’s recent decision to bar the chain of colleges from using federal financial aid to enroll new students as the reason for the sudden shutdown.

Except for a small school that operates under a different name, the move puts an end to an operation that has been accused of widespread fraud and abuse, leaving roughly 35,000 students and 8,000 employees in the lurch.

ITT Educational Services, whose recruitment, lending practices and educational quality have been under scrutiny by federal regulators and state prosecutors for years, said in a news release that it had “exhausted the exploration of alternatives, including transfer of the schools to a nonprofit or public institution.”
"



http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160909/business/160908911/

Quote

"Daily Herald
Business posted: 9/9/2016 5:20 AM
ITT students lost veteran benefits, loans, time and dreams

About 35,000 ITT Technical Institute students, including Phillip Brown, have been scrambling to get their educations and their lives back on track since the school suddenly shut down this week. Here's a shot of ITT's online student portal.
[...]
Anna Marie Kukec
[...]
Phillip Brown of Carpentersville was eight months away from graduating with a bachelor's degree when his school, ITT Technical Institute in Oak Brook, suddenly shut down this week.

The U.S. Army Purple Heart veteran, who was wounded during a bomb blast in Iraq, already used up about $90,000 in veteran benefits at ITT. He now faces finding a new school and getting a student loan. The prospect of paying out of pocket, after all the time and money already spent, upsets him.
[...]
 -- Anna Marie Kukec   
 
"I only have two quarters of classes left to get my bachelor's degree (in infrastructure and cyber security). And now they are closed, so I will have to start over," said Brown, 32.

Brown isn't the only one. Brown, Kelly McLoughlin of Elgin and Ryan Doran of Kankakee were among 35,000 students told Tuesday that ITT was closing its 137 campuses nationwide, including those in Arlington Heights, Oak Brook and Orland Park.

The U.S. Department of Education, which had been investigating the for-profit school, offered stranded students two options if they have loans. Students could have the ITT loan forgiven, but then lose their credits and start over. Or they could pay off the ITT student loan and get a new loan to finish at a new school.
[...]
The school's parent company, ITT Educational Services Inc. in Carmel, Indiana, said it was a casualty of tighter government oversight and had no choice but to close. "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," an ITT statement said.

About 35,000 ITT Technical Institute students, including Phillip Brown, have been scrambling to get their educations back on track since the school suddenly shut down this week. Brown, holding his Purple Heart certificate he earned after being in a bomb blast while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, says he used $90,000 in veterans benefits at the school.
[...]
Brown, who works from his home as a support engineer for California-based IT firm Xantrion, said his ITT experience started great at the Arlington Heights campus but later began to present problems. He transferred to the Oak Brook campus near his previous job and said he had unresolved complaints with the school about books and supplies he paid for but did not receive and about the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs being billed for classes he did not attend.
"

Obviously, and without any doubt, the ITT Educational Services Inc. defrauded their students and the loan-givers.

The U.S. Department of Education decided not to give any loans to ITT Educational Services Inc..

ITT Educational Services Inc.. decided to close, leaving all students and employees hanging in mid-air.

Like the student with 90000 Dollars others are hurt with enormous sums it will take decades to pay back. On top of that "Students could have the ITT loan forgiven, but then lose their credits and start over. Or they could pay off the ITT student loan and get a new loan to finish at a new school." So, to the already piled up sums of tens of thousands of Dollar perhaps the same sums will pile up on top of that, doubling or tripling the burden. How many lives will it take to pay back the loans?

The offer by the U.S. Department of Education kicks over board 35000 students. Why, if the already paid loans are nixed, does the he U.S. Department of Education not accept the already achieved educational credits? Why?

The U.S. Department of Education puts the whole risk and blame and damage onto the backs of the students. Why? What is there in it for the U.S. Department of Education not to accept achieved educational credits!?