Displaced By ITT Tech's Closing? This Workshop’s For You

Oakland Community College is holding a one-stop workshop to help students affected by the abrupt closing earlier this month of ITT Technical Institute get their careers back on track.

The workshop is from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, at the college’s Auburn Hills campus at 2900 Featherstone Road, Building F, Room G-240.

“We designed this event to help ITT students get their education and career back on track after the closing of ITT campuses nationwide,” OCC Chancellor Timothy Meyer said in a news release. “The real tragedy with the closing of ITT is for those students who were left stranded in their academic path to success. We wanted to provide a one-stop workshop to help them understand what their options are to completing their

The Carmel, IN-based for-profit ITT Technical Institute closed permanently in early September under federal pressure. The school operated 130 campuses in 38 states, including five in Michigan located in Troy, Canton, Dearborn, Flint and Grand Rapids.

The two-hour workshop will offer both guidance as well as opportunity to meet with representatives from counseling, admissions, financial aid and various academic programs.

Though most of OCC’s fall classes have already started, OCC is waiving the fall application deadline for ITT students so they can take advantage of courses starting later this month instead of waiting until winter semester.

The workshop is free, but advance registration is recommended here or by calling (248) 341-2230. If you’re planning to attend, be sure to bring along a photo identification, unofficial transcripts and tax records to start the financial aid process.

Oakland Community College has five campuses in Michigan, where students can earn degrees and certificates in about 100 career fields and university transfer degrees in business, science and liberal arts. Besides Auburn Hills, the college also has campuses in Royal Oak, Waterford, Farmington Hills and Southfield.

In August, the U.S. Department of Education banned ITT from enrolling new students who receive federal aid after its accrediting agency cited chronic mismanagement of finances and questionable recruiting tactics. Federal aid provided 68 percent of parent company ITT Educational Services Inc.’s $850 million in revenues.

In a statement, ITT Educational Services Inc., the company that operated the school, said the “actions of sanctions by the U.S. Department of Education have forced us to cease operations” immediately. The closure left tens of thousands of students about to begin the September quarter scrambling for options.

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