Feds force closure of ITT Technical Institute

HOUSTON, TX -- One of the nation’s leaders in technical and industrial education, shuttered 130 campuses nation-wide, include three of their campuses in Houston, after the Department of education denied access to federal financial aid funding for its student body.

ITT Technical Institute, which has operated throughout the United States for half a century, eliminated the positions of most of the school’s 8,000 employees, with the remaining staff left to help those students with their educational records and any future educational needs.

The move affects more than 1,600 students in the Houston area, including Philip Dean, 24, who moved his family from Huntsville this past spring to study electrical engineering.

"There's nobody to even talk to," Dean told the Houston Chronicle. "I would have expected in an emergency like this someone would be here.”

Dean said the degree would have "opened up so many doors" for him and his family.

The three local campuses, which are located at 2950 S. Gessner; at 15651 North Freeway in Houston, and at 1001 Magnolia Ave., Webster, had a combined enrollment of 1,638 students.

The Houston west campus, which is the oldest was established in June 1983, and moved to the present Gessner site 21 years ago.

The south Houston campus opened in June 1995 and has been at Magnolia Avenue site since September 2006.

In late last month, the Department of Education blocked ITT Tech from taking any new students who use federal financial aid.

Nationwide, there are 43,000 students enrolled at campuses in 38 states, and is the among the largest for-profit college chains in the United States, reporting $850 million in revenue last year.

On Tuesday, the college issued a statement expressing regret to the students and staff.
"It is with profound regret that we must report that ITT Educational Services, Inc. will discontinue academic operations at all of its ITT Technical Institutes permanently after approximately 50 years of continuous service. 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, which has been under federal scrutiny dating back to 2014, stopped enrolling students last week.

ITT has also been ordered to pay $152 million to the department within 30 days to cover student refunds and other liabilities in case the company closes.
The chain, based in Indiana, is still paying another $44 million demanded by the department in June for the same reason.

The company said they believe the actions of the federal government were “inappropriate and unconstitutional,” but that other institutions may “now likely rest on other parties to understand these reprehensible actions and to take action to attempt to prevent this from happening again."

Meanwhile, the Lone Star College System issued a press release late Tuesday offering to help those students affected by the closure.

Current and recent ITT students should go to LoneStar.edu/ITTHelp for more information.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, special Lone Star College advisors will be available at 9 a.m. to answer questions and assist ITT students. Advisors can be reached by email at ITThelp@LoneStar.edu or by calling 281.362.7827.

ITT students may also view a list of Lone Star College’s current Programs of Study at LoneStar.edu/programs

Image: Troy ITT Technical Institute campus via Google Earth