Students Shocked By Sudden Closure Of Northwestern College

OAK LAWN, IL — A for-profit career college in Oak Lawn abruptly closed its doors after 122 years, leaving current students in a panic about their next steps in completing their education.

Students at Northwestern College were informed via email Saturday by college president Lawrence Schumacher who said that the school would be closing due to severe financial problems.

“[We] cannot continue to hold classes and will be closing as of July 6,” Schumacher
said.

The for-profit college at 9400 S. Cicero Ave., Oak Lawn, was founded in 1902 as a “career college” to fulfill the Chicago area’s need for trained and skilled workers. Until Saturday, Northwestern College offered certificates, associate and bachelor’s degrees in the medical and dental fields, including medical assisting, dental assisting, coding specialist, nursing, radiology, health information technology and health information management.

According to the email students received from school officials, the college has been undergoing a review by the U.S. Department of Education, ending the regular flow of federal student aid to the institution. The college was placed on a reimbursement system where funds were delayed for 45 days or more.

“The college was able to cover the delay in funding for over two years,” Schumacher said. “Unfortunately, the college is no longer able to make alternative arrangements to cover this continuing delay in funding.”

Schumacher called the decision to close the college “difficult,” and the college administration explored merging with similar colleges, but “after careful analysis of its current and projected fiscal position” decided to close the school.

To help students make a smooth transition without too much disruption to their education, the college has assembled a list of colleges and universities on its website that have agreed to accept Northwestern College students so they can complete their academic programs.

“We have identified several institutions that have comparable academic programs and have indicated they will accept our students, provide credit for coursework completed on a satisfactory academic basis and will expedite the admission and enrollment processes,” Schumacher said in his email.

Transfer options include Prairie State College, Moraine Valley Community College, DeVry Institute, Chamberlain University, Morton College and Malcolm X Community College.

Northwestern College students can also find information about their next steps on the Illinois Higher Board of Education's website. The website also has information on where to request transcripts from the IHBE and federal closed-school loan forgiveness and eligibility requirements through the Department of Education.

For more information about school records, email Records@nc.edu by Aug. 1, 2024.

According to Forbes, for-profit colleges and universities are the most likely to close without warning than other types of institutions due to financial instability, such as federal aid cutoff, and a declining pool of high school graduates.

Northwestern College has notified the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), Department of Education (DOE), Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT), Illinois Board of Nursing, and Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM) of the college’s closure.