‘ITT Tech’ school shuttered

The total shut-down of this Parkrose area school shocked both students and instructors. Look, and discover valuable resources for debt-ridden students …

No guests or students will again visit the lobby of Portland’s ITT Technical Institute School located in outer East Portland.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

When the students attending school at the Portland ITT Educational Services, Inc. – called “ITT Technical Institute”, and located near Parkrose on Portland International Airport property – headed out for the long Labor Day weekend holiday, they had no idea that they would never again be returning to class at that school.

“It is with profound regret that we must report that ITT Educational Services, Inc., will discontinue academic operations at all of its ITT Technical Institutes …” said the company in a press release.

The blinds are now closed on the classroom windows at this outer East Portland technical school.

ITT Tech’s decision to close down its campuses after long holiday weekend left both faculty members and students feeling “out of the loop” – they believed that they were getting a bonus day off on September 6.

Andrew Martin, a student from Seattle, arrived on campus to find his educational career at ITT Technical was over.

Now-former student Andrew Martin says the school’s sudden closing came as a surprise.

“I was a full-time student for about a year in their electrical engineering program, before I decided to take the summer term off,” Martin told East Portland News.

“I’d heard what was going on today, and was coming down to see if I could get some information,” Martin said.

Seeing what could be described as “opaque” e-mails from the company, Martin said he was puzzled. “I’m surprised and shocked about what’s going on right now; I’m just really stunned by this.”

About the education he received, Martin said, “I thought it was great and I have no complaints at all. The instructors got to know us on a personal level because we had fairly small classes. With about 10 students in a class, we had a lot of one-on-one face time.

“I have no complaints about my education here,” added Martin.

But, as the east wind blew through the empty parking lot next to the locked building, Martin said he now wonders about his future.

“I don’t know what I’ll do now, I have no idea; I haven’t had too much time to let it sink in. I know there are other options out there. I’m definitely not going to let this get in the way of my educational goals,” the former ITT Technical student said.

Throughout the day, students come and go, hoping for more information about the school, their student loans, and their class credits – but find nothing but a locked building.

In press releases, the company blamed a “challenging regulatory environment that now threatens all proprietary higher education” for their failure, according to their spokesperson, Nicole Elam.

For students who currently or formerly attended ITT Technical the United States Department of Education is providing resources where they can learn about the possibility of having federal student loans discharged. To learn more, see their official webpage: CLICK HERE.

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