ITT/ Breckinridge No Longer Accepting New Students

elkpark · Aug 30, 2016

This is bad. Very bad.

Maybe for the current students, but I'm always happy to see one of these for-profit schools shutting down. I look forward to the day when they will all be out of business. :)

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Aug 30, 2016

Sadly, I have a friend who has pretty much flushed her career as an academic by associating herself with ITT.

But I agree- happy to see these bloodsuckers go away.

Buyer beware, BSN · Sep 6, 2016

Sadly, I have a friend who has pretty much flushed her career as an academic by associating herself with ITT.
But I agree- happy to see these bloodsuckers go away.

Yes. But as far as the faculty is concerned it only adds credence to the adage that one must always be aware of who you associate or "walk with." The academics have always lent legitamacy to these "schools" and as such aid and abet the ongoing facilitation and continuation of the failed for-profit model of nursing education in particular and education in general.

So once more I ask: where were the organizations of accreditation and leadership that gave the OK to this scam?

The next time I hear "just make sure your school is accredited, "please pass the barf bag." Breckinridge held this dubious designation of legitimacy--so what!

There is so much to be said about this mess but mark my words it is just the start of the domino effect of failure of the for-profits.

In this instance the predators have been subdued. Now let's see how the prey will be made whole.

elkpark · Sep 6, 2016

In this instance the predators have been subdued. Now let's see how the prey will be made whole.

I'm not sure I think that the "prey" should "be made whole." It hasn't been any secret that these schools are sub-par institutions of highly dubious reputation. We all make choices in life and have to live with the consequences. I can see getting money back from the "schools" to cover outstanding student loans, but I don't want to see the taxpayers taking the hit for this.

GodBody26 · Sep 6, 2016

Not going to lie but I'm happy this is happening. I know someone personally in the program here so I feel bad for him but I've despised these schools for the longest

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Sep 6, 2016

So once more I ask: where were the organizations of accreditation and leadership that gave the OK to this scam?

I sat through a monthly BON hearing. A for-profit school was in front of the board for the billionth time. One of the board members asked the Chair of the board "We have been dealing with this school every 3 months for 2 yrs. When is it when we have had enough?"

The problem for the BONs is empathy for the current students. They have 4 options:

1. Rescind the schools state accreditation. Current students would left out in the cold.

2. Not allow the school to accept new students. Without new income from new students, the income would decrease with each graduating class until it is no longer economically feasible to continue their nursing school and close before the last class graduates.

3. Require a teach-out in which the students transfer to another for-profit school that is soon to be on the BON chopping block.

4. Transfer those students to a reputable school which would never happen. If the students were not competitive to get into the school in the first place, why would the school want to deal with the headache of giving spots to the for-profit students and spend the energy to get them up to their standards before graduation and the potential to lower their NCLEX pass rate?

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Sep 6, 2016

Sadly, I have a friend who has pretty much flushed her career as an academic by associating herself with ITT.
But I agree- happy to see these bloodsuckers go away.

I'm so sorry for your friend, but I am extremely happy this is happening. These schools need to go away.

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 6, 2016

The next time I hear "just make sure your school is accredited, "please pass the barf bag."

This is why it needs to be specified "by ACEN or CCNE". Those are not bought and paid for by the for profit schools who create the organizations so that they can claim accreditation.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Sep 7, 2016

Yes. But as far as the faculty is concerned it only adds credence to the adage that one must always be aware of who you associate or "walk with." The academics have always lent legitamacy to these "schools" and as such aid and abet the ongoing facilitation and continuation of the failed for-profit model of nursing education in particular and education in general.
So once more I ask: where were the organizations of accreditation and leadership that gave the OK to this scam?
The next time I hear "just make sure your school is accredited, "please pass the barf bag." Breckinridge held this dubious designation of legitimacy--so what!
There is so much to be said about this mess but mark my words it is just the start of the domino effect of failure of the for-profits.
In this instance the predators have been subdued. Now let's see how the prey will be made whole.

ITT did not have accreditation, at all. Their schools barely had the ability to allow their students sit for NCLEX. Are you talking about the fake accreditation they tell their students? The fake, We are accredited by the National League of Health Sciences? That's an accreditation by the for profits, for the for profits. It means absolutely nothing because it's not a real accreditation. ITT is actually lower on the scale than Medtech was. They closed last week.

I specify which accreditations people need to look for. I think I also sat in on the same meeting that the other poster did, where the BON asked, Why are we still even dealing with this school?

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 7, 2016

I'm not sure I think that the "prey" should "be made whole." It hasn't been any secret that these schools are sub-par institutions of highly dubious reputation. We all make choices in life and have to live with the consequences. I can see getting money back from the "schools" to cover outstanding student loans, but I don't want to see the taxpayers taking the hit for this.

Taxpayers will take a hit for this. That's just the way it works. When student loans are forgiven, the people lending the money (the Federal Government) has to "eat the loss." That is one reason the Dept. of Education hesitates to do anything that forces a school's closure. It knows that it will be expensive for the government.

The money doesn't come from the many people all over the country who own stock in the company -- many of whom don't even know they own pieces of the parent company. How many of us own stock in for-profit educations and don't even know it? Do you monitor every stock in your retirement portfolio?

Sometimes, if there is some money available -- (cash, reserves, equity from selling buildings and land, etc.) students can get a piece of it. But that money also has to be used for the expenses incurred while closing down -- paying the real estate agents who sell the buildings, disposing of all of the contents of those buildings, paying staff to do the work of closing down, keeping academic records, etc. And of course, the lawyers get paid. In the case of ITT, some of the staff have already filed suit against the school for terminating jobs without giving a mandatory 60-day notice. (ITT may have to pay them for an additional 60 days to comply with the law.)

There will be a long line of people waiting in line to get a share of whatever money might be available. It could take years for everything to work through the system -- and a lot of people will lose some money. If a student is able to transfer their academic credit and graduate with a comparable degree, then the government loans are usually not forgiven. But if they can't transfer, the government usually forgives the loan and the tax payers are the losers.

Crew2Nursing · Sep 9, 2016

I find the comments and opinions of some of you posters to be to be very elitist. I understand that your personal views of these universities might be based on your own perceptions. I would like to tell you as a student of one of these for-profit universities, I find my educational system to be adequate and aligned with the rest of the programs from"brick and mortar" schools. In the end, is it not the pass rates that matter on NCLEX? Plenty of our students pass with a 95-98% which is higher than some of the traditional schools in my area. Most if not all of my classmates are working adults that the traditional schools either can't accept, or won't accept (e.g, language barriers, working mother/father, etc) usually a traditionally someone with low income. Now I know its a personal viewpoint, I get it.

However, some of the professors from other schools look down upon students like myself. I speak with experience all due to my school choice. I was accepted into a brick and mortar school. However, due to me moving across the country, and trying to get into a program. I choose a for-profit school. When in the end, I will become a nurse and I will be just like any other student from any other school. I want the best for my patients, my family, and my future profession. How does that make me or any of the thousands like me different from students from traditional brick and mortar programs?

So when people say they can't wait for "schools like mine to be shut down, etc" it de-values thousands of lives, personal backgrounds, and hurdles to become a valued member of this profession. It devalues me.... Even if you don't personally believe that. Words do matter.

I think people find change to be hard and some of these schools are not perfect. These schools have forced Brick and Morter schools to change tactics. More online classes, more technologies with school interactions. Just please don't paint all of them with a broad stroke. My school is not perfect but, I've yet to find a nursing program, professor, or dean who is. Yet, we are all trying to broaden our horizons and experiences to become better future nurses.

To be open and transparent my school is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, State Board of Nursing, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

-Crew2State

Future Nurse 2017

-Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. - Rudyard Kipling