ITT Technical Institute halts new student enrollment

HOUSTON – Lance Woodard spent all summer filing the appropriate paperwork and making sure his financial aid forms were in order so he could start computer classes at ITT Technical Institute the second week of September.

But the 24-year-old received an alarming email from the school this week.

“Saying they’re not going to carry financial aid, they want you to pay out of pocket,” Woodard told KPRC.

His tuition bill for a two-year degree is more than $46,000.

“I don’t have that kind of money,” he said. “My mom just had cancer and that’s not gonna work.”

Sadly, Woodard isn’t alone.

The school has been the subject of state and federal investigations focusing on its recruiting and accounting practices. Now, the school is banned from taking new students who received federal financial aid and has stopped enrolling new students altogether.

The front page of its website says the school is no longer enrolling students and current students worry the school will close its doors for good. 

Now Woodard, and other students, are being forced to enroll at other schools. Woodard has to wait several months until the next semester starts and his future is currently on hold.

“It’s very frustrating,” he said.

ITT operates vocational schools at more than 130 campuses in 38 states, including several in the Houston area.  In 2015 ITT enrolled 45,000 students and reported $850 million in revenue.