In response to today’s announcement that ITT Technical Educational Services, Inc. will close all of its nationwide locations, the Center for Responsible Lending’s Whitney Barkley, a policy counsel specializing in student loans made the following statement:
Although ITT Tech blamed its closures on August 25 Department of Education supervisory actions, the institution was facing multiple state investigations as well as other serious signs of approaching failure.
The first danger signal came when the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools found that ITT Tech was "not in compliance, and is unlikely to become in compliance" with accreditation standards.
The day following the Department of Education’s supervisory action, California’s Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education issued an emergency decision directing ITT Tech and its subsidiaries to cease enrollment of any new students as of September 1. ITT Tech had 15 locations across the state.
ITT Tech had a spigot problem and was overly-dependent upon taxpayer dollars. The Education Department decided to turn off the spigot of funding. Now, they should take an additional step – protecting all ITT Tech students and hold them harmless for federal loans incurred during their studies. No one should become a victim of education fraud.
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Charlene Crowell at charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org or 919.313.8523