TULSA – After ITT Technical Institute announced it is ceasing all operation Tuesday, several Tulsa-area students are wondering where to go for their education?
The decision to shut down ITT nationwide came after a ruling by the U.S. Department of Education regarding federal loans. Essentially, the federal ruling blocked all federal student loan funding for the school.
ITT students around the nation are reportedly reeling, wondering where to go next.
ITT Tech electrical engineering student Sean Garton said “I wasn’t expecting this, they didn’t warn me or nothing [sic].”
For over a year, Kylee Crain says she’s been working towards getting her nursing degree at ITT Tech but now the college is shut down, her dreams are put on hold. “I feel like I was so close to achieving my dream of becoming a nurse, and I was six months away and now I don’t know what to do,” said Crain.
ITT Tech released a statement Tuesday saying the board of education is the reason why the college is shutting down. Back in August, the board of education banned the college from enrolling new students who rely on financial aid to pay for their education after the school was experiencing financial issues.
In 2015, the government restricted federal money to ITT Tech after it couldn’t account for millions of lost dollars.
“I think it’d be like starting over, you know, it’s like having a baby and having a miscarriage or something, you know it’s so hard,” said Alishia Evans, ITT Tech nursing student.
Students are now worrying about where their credits can transfer.
“I’ve called probably five or six, RN, well nursing programs, within an hour and a half of Tulsa and no one so far will accept our credits, no one,” said Kylee Crain.
In ITT Tech’s statement, it says the remaining staff is working to help the students with their records and future educational options but Crain says she’s still waiting for someone to pick up the phone.
“They told me that most of the records are not transferable, so my year I’ve done in my bachelor’s degree is just probably going to go out the window,” said Garton.
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education say they are currently working to figure out options for ITT Tech students and say they’ll be releasing more information soon.
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