BY CRAIG STEWART

This week,  ITT Technical Institute closed down on all campuses, which has left Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in Kansas City reaching out to students left stranded. MCC responded on Wednesday that all five of the campuses, Longview, Maple Woods, Penn Valley, Business and Technology, and the Blue River location here in Independence, MO are working with students that got forced out by ITT as they search for another higher education point.

ITT operated a campus in Kansas City and another in Overland Park who released the immediate suspension of their classes on Tuesday. MCC said they have already started getting calls from ITT students looking for assistants.

Jackie Jill, President of MCC Business and Technology, said she had overheard about a week ago in higher education circles that they might be closing their doors. “We  began then talking about what we might do to welcome these students.”

MCC has made counselors available to talk about program options and transitions assistance for former ITT students, and reached out to former students by introducing a career exploration event at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 on the MCC-Business & Technology campus at 1775 Universal Ave, Kansas City. Attendees can learn what programs are offered, meet with instructors, tour the facility, and speak with an adviser.

“We want to see students  succeed,and when and when someone is faced with the obstacle of a school closing unexpectedly, they can look to MCC to provide  support as they work to get their dreams of success back on trap,” Gill said.

In the merge many employees like Steve Ryan, an instructor at two ITT Technical Institute locations in California, and Allen Federman, a business analyst at ITT Educational Services Inc’s Carmel, Ind., headquarters, lost their jobs. Many of these employees have decided to put out a lawsuit against the Institute for unlawful termination.

The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of the 8,000 employees who are losing their job as a result of ITT decision to shut down all 130 ITT Technical Institute campuses in 38 states.  ITT spokeswoman Nicole Elam called the campus closures a “complicated process.” Elam also said that “all matters involving students and personnel are priorities.”