Dive Brief:
- Corinthian Colleges Inc. will close its remaining campuses in California, Arizona, New York, Hawaii, and Arizona, effective today, on the heels of fines levied against it by the U.S. Department of Education.
- After already shuttering or selling nearly a hundred campuses last year, the for-profit college chain had 28 remaining under Heald, Everest, and WyoTech names.
- The Associated Press reports that a statement from Corinthian issued Sunday said the company would help current students continue their educations elsewhere.
Dive Insight:
Corinthian Colleges Inc. used to be one of the country’s largest for-profit education chains, but fraud allegations and restricted access to federal student aid last year led to its downfall. Since then, the chain has been under strict scrutiny, and facing lawsuits, from nearly all sides. The Department of Education fined the company $30 million earlier this month for misrepresenting job placement data for its graduates. More than 16,000 students and faculty will be affected by Monday’s closings. Many of those students likely will join the call for loan forgiveness, started by their peers on other campuses.
