The Wichita Area Technical College is offering assistance to ITT Tech students who were left in limbo when their school closed last week.
WATC is holding information sessions this week to help ITT Tech students who want to continue their education.
The for-profit ITT Technical Institute closed its Wichita campus along with 136 others across the U.S.
Justin Pfeifer with WATC Student Services says they’re waiving some fees to help students get back in the classroom.
"We’re really just providing a lot of extra attention to these students," Pfeifer says. "We did have some nursing students that are interested, so we are able to be a little flexible on our deadlines and things like that to give them a chance to jump back in January or our at second eight weeks, which starts in October."
He says some students might be eligible to get credit for experience and coursework already completed.
"Our subject matter experts who are faculty will review their portfolios and then determine whether or not they have met the competencies that we have for our own courses," Pfeifer says. "And if they do, in those cases, we can award credit. It’s just called credit for prior learning, as opposed to a transfer of credit."
He says they can’t actually transfer credits because ITT was not an accredited institution by the Higher Learning Commission.
The parent company for ITT blames the closings on a federal ruling last month that banned the company from enrolling any students who relied on federal financial aid. Former ITT students may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education if they do not continue their education.
WATC is a nonprofit, public college accredited by the Higher Learning Commissions and the Kansas Board of Regents.
WATC’s next information session is Thursday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at WATC’s main campus, the National Center for Aviation Training Campus, in the Gateway Building located at 4004 N Webb Road.
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