CARMEL, Ind., May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Statement from Gene Feichtner,
President and Chief Operating Officer:
The ITT Technical Institutes have been under scrutiny for years
– and still have yet to have a day in court. In recent news, the
piling on continues by the Miami Herald who chastises the state
education board for allowing ITT Tech
to continue to enroll students instead of shutting it down based on
allegations. The unprecedented assault persists on yet another
career college that has been operating on solid footing for 45
years. Our established decades of service to non-traditional
students and veterans is now only a negative and repeating headline
– and a chorus of cries for change.
Enough.
The piling on from members of Congress to government agencies
has pulled us off mission and into court, administrative appeals
and petty bureaucracies – with actions built on misinformation,
false facts and allegations only.
To date, not a single finding of fact has occurred in the light
of a public arena where ITT Tech has
been able to defend its reputation in courtroom or anywhere
else.
We've produced hundreds of thousands, if not millions of paper
documents, to federal and state authorities.
While the new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing
adds to the pile, we still have not a single finding of fact or
wrongdoing to confirm allegations made about ITT Tech.
We've seen authorities rush to judgment with questionable
actions and also foot dragging that has kept regulatory hammers
hanging over the fate of this institution for years. This is an
ideologically-driven tactic, pure and simple – with little to no
thought for the fate of students enrolled in our programs or
working toward employment in their chosen field of study.
The most current action by the California State Approving Agency
for Veterans Education is a clear example – as it denied enrollment
to our students based on false facts and erroneous information that
we are now in the process of correcting. Despite this flawed logic
and failure to be precise with facts, even citing inaccurate
statements about our financial status, other government agencies
have been encouraged to follow in their footsteps.
The challenge of the 21st century is to educate non-traditional
students and ITT Tech has consistently
been able to meet that challenge, including being able to meet the
demands of our base of over 14,000 employers nationwide who have
hired our graduates in the last two years.
Our record of service to non-traditional students speaks for
itself. Our graduation rates are twice that of community colleges
who serve the same student demographic. Approximately 70 percent of
our 2013 employable graduates obtained employment in their field of
study using knowledge and skills obtained from their programs. We
awarded more than $240 million in scholarships to students
nationwide last year. And, more than 3,000 employers
nationwide provided feedback on our curriculum in 2014 to help us
meet the needs of employers.
Members of Congress and government entities alike can, and will,
seek political points by attacking career colleges and entering
into the growing debate over student debt and outcomes. We've come
to expect these unjust assaults and will continue to work
diligently to defend what matters most to our students – their
education, their graduation, and their employment.
ITT Tech is proud of its 45 year
record of service to students and we will defend it. The rush to
judgment, before a finding of fact, is unwarranted and it only
hurts the students who benefit most from the services we
provide.
Let there be no presumption here that we believe we'll be
treated fairly, but we'll continue to do what we can for our
students despite all the unsupported regulatory and litigation
roadblocks being put in place.
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SOURCE ITT Educational Services, Inc.