The Carmel-based for-profit college ITT Educational Services announced Sept. 6 that it will permanently end its academic programs at all campuses nationwide and terminate the employment of nearly all of its 8,000 employees. This comes in the wake of a decision to stop accepting new students after the U.S. Dept. of Education banned the school from enrolling new students who use federal financial aid.
“With what we believe is a complete disregard by the U.S. Dept. 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,” ITT stated in a press release. “The actions of and sanctions from the U.S. Department of Education have forced us to cease operations of the ITT Technical Institutes, and we will not be offering our September quarter. We reached this decision only after having exhausted the exploration of alternatives, including transfer of the schools to a nonprofit or public institution.”
The nationwide chain, known for its ITT Tech campuses and its frequent TV commercials, had been under investigation by state and federal agencies for its recruiting and accounting practices.
“Our responsibility is first and foremost to protect students and taxpayers,” U.S. Dept. of Education Secretary John King said in a statement prior to the Sept. 6 decision. “Looking at all of the risk factors, it’s clear that we need increased financial protection and that it simply would not be responsible or in the best interest of students to allow ITT to continue enrolling new students who rely on federal student aid funds.”
