40,000 Students Out of School as ITT Technical Institutes Shuts Down All Campuses

ITT Technical Institutes is shutting down all of its campuses, the for-profit college announced on Tuesday, leaving its 40,000 students out of school.

The announcement follows ITT’s decision last week to stop enrolling all new students after the Department of Education banned the school from enrolling new students who receive federal financial aid. The school, which has been operating for nearly 50 years, faulted the department for the sudden closure.

“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,” ITT said in a company statement, according to the Washington Post. “We reached this decision only after having exhausted the exploration of alternatives, including transfer of the schools to a non-profit or public institution.”

ITT had been the subject of several state and federal investigations due to allegations of fraud and predatory loan practices, the Post reported. Its accreditation was also recently called into question.

While the majority of ITT workers have been laid off, remaining employees will help students figure out their next step, including transferring credits or beginning their education anew, the Post reported.

[The Washington Post]