ITT Tech Shuts Down Campuses After Federal Aid Sanctions

CARMEL, Ind. (CBS/AP) — The for-profit college chain ITT Educational Services is shutting down its campuses days after the U.S. Department of Education banned it from enrolling new students who use federal financial aid.

The company, which operates vocational schools, announced "with profound regret" in a statement Tuesday that it is ending academic operations at all of its more than 130 campuses across 38 states.

According to its website, there are two campuses in Massachusetts in Norwood and Wilmington.

The company, based in Carmel, Indiana, says its move will have an impact on hundreds of thousands of students and alumni as well as more than 8,000 employees.

Tuesday afternoon, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey asked students who attended the two Massachusetts campuses to cancel their payments to the school, save all of their documentation, and contact her office to apply for a discharge of their federal loans.

"These for-profit schools are really predicated on taking in as much money as possible by way of federal student loans, doing as little as possible for students, and making investors rich all the while," Healey told reporters.

In April, Healey's office sued ITT for lying to prospective students about the success rates of its graduates.

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