ITT Tech Discontinues Operations

After more than 50 years, Carmel-based ITT Educational Services Inc. has announced it is permanently shutting down. The company says the "overwhelming majority" of more than 8,000 jobs have been eliminated. Last week, the for-profit post-secondary education provider stopped accepting enrollment amid mounting pressure and sanctions from federal regulators and consumer agencies.

In a June 30 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, ITT reported approximately 40,000 students in 39 states at 137 ITT Technical Institute and Daniel Webster College campus locations.

ITT was previously banned from receiving federal financial aid by the U.S. Department of Education for failing to meet accreditation standards.

In a statement, ITT Educational Services said:

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.

High-profile troubles date back multiple years for the institution. In 2014, school officials called a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Agency that claimed ITT participated in predatory lending practices "unjustified" and "without merit."

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