IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
ITT Technical Institutes is shutting down all of its schools nationwide, including its Inland Empire campuses in Corona and San Bernardino, officials announced today.
The closures, which were effective immediately, will impact more than 35,000 students and an estimated 8,000 employees, according to a statement released by ITT Educational Services Inc. in Carmel, Ind., the company that operates the schools.
The move was caused by a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Education to forbid the school from accepting new students who use federal financial aid.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
Officials with ITT Educational considered several options, including changing to a non-profit, before deciding to cease operations.
ITT Educational will concentrate on helping its former students pursue their educations at other institutions. Since its founding in 1969 ITT Tech has educated hundreds of thousands of students, providing skilled workers in high-demand fields, during its time in operation, according to the statement.
Both Inland Empire campuses were closed Tuesday afternoon. The San Bernardino campus was not accepting voice mails, and a message left with the Corona campus seeking comment was not returned.
