CARMEL, Ind., Sept. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ITT
Educational Services, Inc. released the following statement:
"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 more than 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.
The actions of and sanctions from the U.S. Department of
Education have forced us to cease operations of the ITT Technical
Institutes, and we will not be offering our September quarter. We
reached this decision only after having exhausted the exploration
of alternatives, including transfer of the schools to a non-profit
or public institution.
Effective today, the company has eliminated the positions of the
overwhelming majority of our more than 8,000 employees. Our focus
and priority with our remaining staff is on helping the tens of
thousands of unexpectedly displaced students with their records and
future educational options.
This action of our federal regulator to increase our surety
requirement to 40 percent of our Title IV federal funding and place
our schools under "Heightened Cash Monitoring Level 2," forced us
to conclude that we can no longer continue to operate our
ITT Tech campuses and provide our
students with the quality education they expect and
deserve.
For more than half a century, ITT
Tech has helped hundreds of thousands of non-traditional and
underserved students improve their lives through career-focused
technical education. Thousands of employers have relied on our
institutions for skilled workers in high-demand fields. We have
been a mainstay in more than 130 communities that we served
nationwide, as well as an engine of economic activity and a
positive innovator in the higher-education sector.
This federal action will also disrupt the lives of thousands of
hardworking ITT Tech employees and
their families. More than 8,000 ITT
Tech employees are now without a job – employees who
exhibited the utmost dedication in serving our
students.
We have always carefully managed expenses to align with our
enrollments. We had no intention prior to the receipt of the most
recent sanctions of closing down despite the challenging regulatory
environment that now threatens all proprietary higher education. We
have also always worked tirelessly to ensure compliance with all
applicable laws and regulations, and to uphold our ethic of
continuous improvement. When we have received inquiries from
regulators, we have always been responsive and cooperative. Despite
our ongoing service to this nation's employers, local communities
and underserved students, these federal actions will result in the
closure of the ITT Technical Institutes without any opportunity to
pursue our right to due process.
These unwarranted actions, taken without proving a single
allegation, are a "lawless execution," as noted by a recent
editorial in The Wall Street Journal. We were not provided with a
hearing or an appeal. Alternatives that we strongly believe would
have better served students, employees, and taxpayers were
rejected. The damage done to our students and employees, as well as
to our shareholders and the American taxpayers, is
irrevocable.
We believe the government's action was inappropriate and
unconstitutional, however, with the ITT Technical Institutes
ceasing operations, it will now likely rest on other parties to
understand these reprehensible actions and to take action to
attempt to prevent this from happening again."
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itt-educational-services-inc-to-cease-operations-at-all-itt-technical-institutes-following-federal-actions-300322590.html
SOURCE ITT Educational Services, Inc.
