After 20 years of operation, for-profit Corinthian Colleges Inc. will shut down their remaining 28 campuses, including 10 locations in California, as well as other colleges in California, Arizona, and New York under the Everest, WyoTech, and Heald college names. Corinthian Colleges was under investigation and charged with a $30 million fine by the federal government for misrepresentation of job placement data, attendance records, deceptive and aggressive marketing tactics, and altered grades.
Even though Corinthian Colleges expected the closure for months, more than 16,000 degree-seeking students received notice Sunday that the college they had been attending will be closed starting Monday. Many students received tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and will now be looking to transfer their credits to another college in hopes to finish their degree or seek federal student loan forgiveness. However, because Corinthian Colleges was a private college, there is a strong chance that their credits will not be transferable.
Groups of devastated students are now protesting their federal student loans and meeting with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, located in Washington D.C., to help figure out a solution for all of the students affected. Many frustrated students were mere months away from graduating with a full bachelor’s degree and now face uncertainty about their educational and financial future.
At its peak, Corinthian Colleges operated 120 campuses with over 110,000 students across North America and doubled revenue to $1.75 billion from 2007 to 2011. The order of the closure comes from the U.S. Education Department, who barred access to student loans in the summer of 2014, as the Obama Administration works to crack down on frivolous for-profit colleges that promise educational and career success to people looking to better themselves and seek the American Dream.
Though this marks a potentially disastrous outcome for many students and employees of the colleges, it will be a cautionary tale for students and educational institutions alike.
