In the aftermath of ITT Technical Institute’s abrupt shutdown in early September, more than 40,000 students were summarily bereft of their school and left with potentially unusable credits. The closure of all 136 ITT Tech campuses occurred practically overnight, one week into the new semester.
ED is encouraging institutions across the country to reach out to former ITT students, and colleges and universities are acting quickly in response. Institutions across the country have announced plans to host open houses and informational fairs to which students can bring their academic transcripts and receive assistance in transferring to the institution.
ED will also host informational webinars for displaced students throughout September. A directory compiled by Chegg, a California-based online textbook retailer, shows a state-by-state list of institutions willing to accept ITT Tech credits.
While players across the higher education sector are taking action, it remains to be seen how the transfer process will work out in practice.
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) said that 1,627 ITT students were enrolled in Virginia campuses when the institution closed, a number that is substantially less than the approximately 4,500 student reported to be enrolled at the close of last semester. That figure is also nearly 1,000 students less than the enrollment figures originally reported to the council at the time of ITT Tech’s closing.
Although there is no official explanation for the drop off in student enrollment, ED had prohibited ITT Tech from enrolling new students using federal financial aid a few weeks before ITT Tech closed up shop.
