The big news this week was the shutdown of yet another for-profit school – ITT Technical Institute, a subsidiary of ITT Educational Services. The issue at hand was that ITT was not addressing the fact it was not meeting the standards of it accreditors. As a result, their accreditation was revoked.
At around the same time, the Department of Education required ITT to increase its cash reserves to cover potential payout back to taxpayers and students in case the school defaulted. Because it did not comply, federal action was taken blocking ITT from enrolling students who would be using federal student aid including veterans using the GI Bill.
So with the shutdown, where does that leave veteran students at ITT? Actually students have a couple of choices. One, they can get a transcript from ITT and search for a school that will accept their credits (or at least most of them). Two, they can start over with a new degree plan at another school.
Most would think that transferring credits would be the prudent way to go, but depending if students have student loans or not, it may not be the best course of action. Why?
Because transferring credits to another school could disqualify students of the option of qualifying for a “closed school loan discharge” meaning federal student loans taken out while a student at ITT would be forgiven and not be required to be paid back. The down side is that students start at ground zero at another school and do not get anything for the GI Bill entitlements used while attending ITT. The Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid website has much more information as to the process of discharging a student loan.
With the first option, students could transfer credits earned at ITT to another school and at least get something in return for the GI Bill entitlement expended. There was some talk when the first for-profit school shut down that veterans might get entitlement used while attending that school reinstated, but as of this writing, that has not been the case, so it most likely will not be the case here either.
Of course, for students not having outstanding federal loans, option one of transferring credits to another school makes perfect sense, providing students can find another school that will accept them or at least most of them. Loss of GI Bill entitlement used would at least be minimized.
According to ITT’s website, students who wish to transfer credits should contact Parchment.com beginning on September 9th for a copy of their transcript. Then go to the College Scorecard website to explore schools teaching your chosen degree field or to the Educational Options page of ITT for a list of potential schools. One school indicating a desire to accept ITT credits is Eastern Gateway Community College in Youngtown, OH. There will probably be more as time goes on.
For veterans having both the Montgomery – Active Duty and Post 9/11 GI Bills, they can have up to 48 combined months of entitlement available to use, so for those students having attended one year or less at ITT, they would still have 36 months of entitlement left – enough for a four-year degree – to use at another school along with the transferred-in credits.
Changing schools is never easy, and under conditions such as these, it can be extremely irritating and confusing. The answer? Logically consider options without bringing emotions into play, as they can cloud clear thinking, and make the best choice for you. This is just a bump in the road and not a dead-end as far as reaching your education goal. Be patient and work through it.
