Important Information Regarding ITT Educational Services, Inc.
On this page you will find information related to the recent oversight and compliance actions imposed against ITT Educational Services and the subsequent closure of ITT Technical Institutes. Featured below is information on how former ITT students can continue their education, apply for closed school loan discharges, retrieve student records, and more.
Closure of ITT Technical Institutes
Closed School Loan Discharge
Credit Transfers
Where to Find More Information
History of Oversight and Compliance Actions Against ITT Educational Services, Inc.
Notice of Intent to Increase ITT Educational Services, Inc. Surety Held by ED
Notice of Additional Requirements and Conditions for ITT’s Continued Participation in Federal Student Aid Programs
Closed School Loan Discharge
Credit Transfers
Where to Find More Information
History of Oversight and Compliance Actions Against ITT Educational Services, Inc.
Notice of Intent to Increase ITT Educational Services, Inc. Surety Held by ED
Notice of Additional Requirements and Conditions for ITT’s Continued Participation in Federal Student Aid Programs
Closure of ITT Technical Institutes
On Sept. 6, 2016, officials representing ITT Educational Services Inc., the parent company of ITT Technical Institute and Daniel Webster College, notified the Department of Education (ED) and the postsecondary education oversight bodies in the 38 states where they have operating locations that they intended to cease online and classroom-based instruction and operations at the 136 ITT Technical Institute locations across the country. On Sept. 16, 2016, ITT filed a Voluntary Petition for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana and subsequently ceased all company operations. As a result, all ITT Technical Institutes have lost their eligibility to receive federal student aid funds from ED.
If you were attending ITT when it announced its closure on Sept. 6, 2016, or if you withdrew from an ITT Technical Institute location on or after May 6, 2016, you have two primary options:
-
Apply for a closed school loan discharge.or
- Transfer earned credits to another institution to continue your education in a comparable program.
Closed School Loan Discharge
If you attended an ITT school that closed while you were attending or soon after you withdrew, and you did not complete your program of study, you may be eligible for a closed school discharge. A closed school discharge is a 100 percent discharge of the federal Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, or Federal Perkins Loans you took out to attend the closed school and a reimbursement of amounts you have already paid to the government.
To apply for loan forgiveness through a closed school discharge, you can either
- complete and return the Closed School Loan Discharge Application sent to you by your servicer or complete this Closed School Loan Discharge Application and return it to your loan servicer, or
- contact your loan servicer about the application process for getting your loan discharged.
Note: Your Closed School Loan Discharge Application must be sent to your loan servicer. To find out who your loan servicer is, log in to My Federal Student Aid or call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243; TTY for the hard of hearing 1-800-730-8913).
If you haven’t already, you’ll need to create an FSA ID—a username and password—to log in.
Read our overview of the closed school loan discharge process for more information about the process and eligibility.
Students impacted by these closures may also be eligible for State Tuition Recovery Fund refunds. For information on availability and eligibility, see column J of this spreadsheet and see our frequently asked questions page.
We encourage you to avoid paying companies for student loan consolidation or forgiveness services that your federal loan servicer provides on behalf of ED for free. Read our recent post on your rights and options as a borrower.
Credit Transfers
Instead of applying for a closed school loan discharge, you may wish to keep the credits you’ve earned from ITT and transfer those credits to another school with a comparable program. If you do transfer into a comparable program offered by another school, that school will evaluate your ITT course work and will decide whether to give you credit for the work already completed, as well as what courses you need to take to complete your program of study.
ED is working with ITT officials, as well as representatives from the state licensing and postsecondary education oversight bodies, to process student records from the 136 impacted schools as soon as possible so that transfer schools can start assessing students’ remaining eligibility for federal student aid funds.
ITT will be held responsible for any return of federal student aid funds which were due to students and had been received, but not earned, prior to closure. ED will work with ITT officials to make sure unearned student Pell Grant and loan funds are restored for future eligibility.
For information on how to access and obtain your student records and transcripts and to find out more about licensed institutions with similar programs in your area, review the closure information that ITT posted on its website or contact your state postsecondary education agency.
You may also want to use ED’s College Scorecard to explore your transfer options and find the program that’s right for you.
Note: Neither ED nor your requisite state agency have confirmed that referred institutions will accept ITT credits as part of any transfer. Students interested in any of the programs listed should contact the institution to determine whether they can transfer their credits.
Again, if you transfer the credits you’ve earned at ITT toward a comparable program at another school and you complete or are in the process of completing that program, you will not be eligible to receive a closed school loan discharge.
Where to Find More Information
We want you to get the help you need to understand your options.
A pre-recorded version of one of the 18 webinars produced during September 2016 to support ITT students can be accessed via this link: https://fsatraining.acms.com/p9gnag68mo1/. A transcript of this webinar is available for the hearing impaired.
ED is coordinating with state and institutional officials that are hosting transfer fairs and student meetings in the vicinity of the closed ITT campuses. You can find the locations, times and other information about the fairs and meetings in columns L through O of this spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is continuously updated and reposted to this site as the dates and locations of new sessions are finalized.
We have also crafted state-specific fact sheets and posted links to a number of state web sites which contain information and resources for displaced ITT students within that state. To download the fact sheet and view the web information from your state, see columns O and P of this spreadsheet.
View our resource page for education stakeholders currently assisting ITT students with their postsecondary options.
If you have further questions, visit our Q&A page to see answers to questions other ITT students have asked.
On Sept. 19, 2016, ED announced that a coalition of organizations are spearheading efforts to match ITT students with experienced financial aid and academic advisors across the country to help navigate the options available. Contact them to talk to a volunteer advisor.
Chegg has compiled a list of institutions that may accept ITT students and their transfer credits. The listings are searchable by state or by proximity to specific ITT campuses. For more information, visit their ITT resource page.
Note: The information provided above serves as an optional resource for students. ED does not endorse nor has verified the data posted on the Chegg resource site.
You may also contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID.
History of Oversight and Compliance Actions Against ITT Educational Services, Inc.
Notice of Intent to Increase ITT Educational Services, Inc. Surety Held by ED
On April 22, 2016, ED received notification that ITT Technical Institute—a subsidiary of ITT Educational Services—located in Indianapolis, IN, and Spokane Valley, WA, received a Show-Cause Directive Letter on April 20, 2016, from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). ACICS’ letter stated that a number of actions called into question ITT’s administrative capacity, organizational integrity, financial viability, and ability to serve students in a manner that complies with ACICS standards.
Due to the seriousness of the issuance of a Show Cause letter and the issues noted by ACICS, ED issued a letter dated June 6, 2016, to ITT Educational Services, Inc., requiring ITT to increase its surety on file with ED from 10% to 20% of the total Title IV funding received in its most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. (A surety is used to cover certain liabilities if a school closes at a time other than at the end of an academic period. Funds from the surety could be used to make refunds, provide teach-out facilities, and meet institutional obligations to ED.) As a result, the current surety amount held by ED must increase by $43,938,303 from $79,707,879 to $123,646,182.
Notice of Additional Requirements and Conditions for ITT’s Continued Participation in Federal Student Aid Programs
As referenced above, on Aug. 4, 2016, ACICS held a hearing regarding the show cause imposed on ITT Technical Institutes, and on Aug. 17, 2016, ACICS informed ED that ACICS continued both institutions on Show Cause. The Aug. 17, 2016, Continue Show-Cause Directive Letter issued by ACICS continues to question ITT’s compliance with a number of ACICS accreditation standards, finding that ITT has not demonstrated full compliance. Because ACICS has determined, after ITT presented information in response to the Show-Cause Directive and participated in a hearing, that ITT is “not in compliance” and is “unlikely to become in compliance” with ACICS Accreditation Criteria, ITT has therefore failed to “meet the requirements established” by its accreditor, as is required by its Provisional Program Participation Agreement with ED.
Due to the ongoing concerns noted in ACICS’ Continue Show-Cause Directive Letter and the continued risk to students and taxpayers, ED issued a letter dated Aug. 25, 2016, to ITT Educational Services, Inc. imposing new requirements and conditions for ITT’s continued participation in federal student aid programs.
For additional information on how these actions may impact students enrolled at ITT and the options available, read our blog post on the action imposed against ITT.
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