Dear Commons Community,

A number of for-profit colleges and universities have had enrollments spiraling downward for the past five years and it appears that the trend is not changing.  ITT Educational Services Inc. which operates more than 130 campuses enrolling 40,000 students is projecting a 45 to 60 percent drop in new student enrollment in the coming six months.  As reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education:

“New-student enrollment at institutions run by ITT Educational Services Inc. may drop by 45 to 60 percent over roughly the next six months, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to a new corporate filing by the company. ITT, which operates more than 130 campuses and enrolls more than 40,000 students, has long been under scrutiny by several agencies, including the U.S. Education Department, which last year tightened its restrictions on the company’s access to federal student aid.

The company’s disclosure, first reported by BuzzFeed News, came in its quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company has already cut its expenses extensively, according to the filing, having ended new-student enrollment on five campuses and closed another in June.

One other source of uncertainty for the company is the status of its accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, which may have its federal recognition revoked, a step that would throw the status of hundreds of colleges into limbo.”

These are troubled times for ITT Educational Services Inc. and a number of other for-profits institutions.

Tony