ITT Tech closing ALL schools nationwide

[klone]

ITT Tech shutting down all campuses nationwide

In late August, the U.S. Department of Education barred ITT (ESI) from enrolling new students who depend on federal aid and required the company to warn current students that its accreditation is in jeopardy. ITT also was told that it must increase its reserves from $94.4 million to $247.3 million, or 40% of federal student aid the company received in 2015.

The financial blow was too much for Carmel-based ITT to bear, so the decision was made to shutter operations, a move that will impact thousands of students and employees.

[Shauntil07, CNA]

And in my area- no one will hire their grads- even the 42% that manage to pass NCLEX.

Yeah, down here, Concorde and Dallas Nursing Institute seems to be some of the other schools that students will go to as well. I had a phlebotomist who was drawing my blood the other day going to DNI (which is not accredited nationally, at all). I was just like, "Why?" Only because she's already in the hospital system she may have a chance to still work but it didn't make any sense to me.

[Shauntil07, CNA]

And in my area- no one will hire their grads- even the 42% that manage to pass NCLEX.

Ouch.

[Shauntil07, CNA]

A) The number of students a nursing program can accommodate is set/capped by the state BON, based on a determination of how many faculty the school has, what kind of clinical sites and lab facilities they have and how many students they can reasonably accommodate in those settings. Most schools of nursing are operating at their capacity to begin with and have already accepted their incoming Fall classes; most of them have no ability to suddenly decide to accept any significant number of new students.

B) As already noted, many of the students in ITT nursing programs are there precisely because they were not competitive applicants for other, more legitimate and respectable, programs. Are you suggesting that schools should relax their admission standards and accept students that they would not ordinarily consider qualified candidates just because the students are getting shafted by ITT?

I don't wish the ITT students any ill, but I'm not optimistic about their chances of getting bailed out by other schools.

1) Well, considering this is Department of Education (federal government) we are talking about, who knows? We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe they will get in, maybe they won't. 2) Just because some students attend for-profit schools doesn't necessarily mean they aren't competitive for the non-profit schools. I scored very well on my HESI (86.5 to be exact and my GPA is a 3.3 which isn't so bad either). At some schools, THAT IS very competitive, but I didn't feel like waiting a year or a year and half to go to school either. I don't have time for that. Plus, I have extra money on the side to assist with paying the loans which is another reason why I'm going that route.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Here's the problem with prospective students doing their research, specifically about issues like accreditation.

If you are uneducated about college in general (say you're the first person in your family to go to college ) you really don't have a reliable person to help you through the process. There's no point of reference.

Couple that with the seeming incongruity of regional accreditation 'trumping' national accreditation and well, you have a perfect storm for a naive student falling victim to an unscrupulous for-profit school admissions person.

I'll repeat what I said in another thread: Those of us fortunate to have successfully navigated college need to mentor these prospective students who lack that person in their life. My Uncle Bob is the reason I went to college. My parents never went, and did not encourage or expect me to go. Not did their parents. Uncle Bob helped me, and now all four of my kids have gone to college- changing our family completely. I've mentored other family members through the process. Highly satisfying.

Any information site you visit that answers the question "so you want to go to nursing school?" emphasizes the importance - the NECESSITY - of a school being accredited and what agencies you need to look for. Even about.com has that information on it.

I do hear what you're saying, but this is 2016. I still struggle with saying there's a potential inability to secure that information.

[caliotter3]

The first time around back in 1968 or so, I could not have told you anything about accreditation. But I don't think the fly by night proprietary schools were around much back then, if at all. I just naturally gravitated toward traditional, reputable schools. As a matter of fact, I never learned about this until I read about it for the first time on AN. I can see how people could miss out on the important difference if not exposed to the information.

[Shauntil07, CNA]

The first time around back in 1968 or so, I could not have told you anything about accreditation. But I don't think the fly by night proprietary schools were around much back then, if at all. I just naturally gravitated toward traditional, reputable schools. As a matter of fact, I never learned about this until I read about it for the first time on AN. I can see how people could miss out on the important difference if not exposed to the information.

I noticed many of these schools were around even before many of us were even born! Lol. But they were named something else or their status changed from non-profit to for-profit or they didn't exist in certain regions and areas that they exist today.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

And things were far different then. Comparing readily available information in 1968 to 2016 is the very definition of apples to oranges.

The Higher Education Act creating the DOE wasn't even passed until 1965. In 1968, regional accreditation for higher institutes of learning was a relatively new thing (regional carries more weight than national, and independent professional recognition is a separate thing). So it was very very different 48 years ago.

[Shauntil07, CNA]

well that makes sense then lol

[YourFaveNurse]

Someone asked which four school just need to disappear...

fortis, medtech & kaplan. For profit schools allow anyone to be nurses & it's ridiculous. The hesi score needes to get into fortis in indiana where i live is low! Medtech & kaplan are totally unaccredited. & i believe fortis is having a hard time getting clinical spots. I think going to a good school for nursing is very important. It will determine the opportunity you get as far as clinicals & jobs as well as the respect you get from other nurses

[klone, MSN, RN]

My sincere hope is that more of these types of schools will bite the dust.

I do feel bad for the students - but researching schools is super easy these days, and anyone should be doing that before signing their life away or plunking down hard earned cash.

Meanwhile, there has been a heated thread in the Colorado forum where I've been called a hater because I'm cautioning people away from Concorde Career College.

Someone earlier in this thread said that we have a responsibility to warn potential nursing students about these predatory schools. But when we try, people get angry at us for trying to warn them about something that contradicts their own world view.

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Here's the problem with prospective students doing their research, specifically about issues like accreditation.

If you are uneducated about college in general (say you're the first person in your family to go to college ) you really don't have a reliable person to help you through the process. There's no point of reference.

Couple that with the seeming incongruity of regional accreditation 'trumping' national accreditation and well, you have a perfect storm for a naive student falling victim to an unscrupulous for-profit school admissions person.

I'll repeat what I said in another thread: Those of us fortunate to have successfully navigated college need to mentor these prospective students who lack that person in their life. My Uncle Bob is the reason I went to college. My parents never went, and did not encourage or expect me to go. Not did their parents. Uncle Bob helped me, and now all four of my kids have gone to college- changing our family completely. I've mentored other family members through the process. Highly satisfying.

Everything you said! I so agree that schools like this prey on vulnerable, trusting, naive students who most assuredly see this as a chance to change their lives. They haven't yet developed the critical thinking skills that would have raised red flags about the program.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

But not every for-profit is bad either. It would be unwise to put them ALL in the same basket when they are not. They shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistake. I find a little fault on all ends, not just the student.

Every investor-owned school is pretty much a scam. I know there are legitimate private schools. Most of those are regular, 4-year universities that have some sort of religious affiliation. But commercial schools are all a scam. I have seen what they do to people.

I have a friend who bounced from school to school. Three different types of those schools. She's now over $60k in debt and no degree to show for it. Each schools admission offices convinced her they could make her dreams of nurse come true. She eventually at the third school was making payments of a couple hundred a month in addition to taking all of her pell Grant and giving her federal loans. She never would listen to me. Now she's out all this money, no degree, no job.

So yes, they are all scams. They throw up these schools and prey on people. People who are in poverty already and they promise this way out by getting a subpar education at their school at a premium price. They promise them their lives will turn around and everything will be unicorns and rainbows with all this great money they will make. It's a fantasy.

Moral of the story, don't go to a school that advertises commercials during Jerry Springer and Judge Judy.