Congressman urges help for ITT students

Staff report

NILES

Congressman Tim Ryan is urging Ohio and community colleges to assist students affected by the ITT Technical Institutes closure last week.

ITT closed all of its campuses, impacting 45,000 students nationwide, including 2,000 enrolled in Ohio.

“Overnight, many students’ planned path to graduation and future employment ended, and they were left with very little information and guidance,” Ryan said in a news release. “There is no doubt that we owe it to these men and women to make sure they are given every opportunity to graduate and succeed.”

Ryan sent a letter to John Ware, executive director of the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools, and one to the presidents of Stark State College, Eastern Gateway Community College and Cuyahoga Community College.

Ryan is a co-sponsor of the Veterans Education Recovery and Restoration Act, which ensures continuation of GI benefits, including the housing stipend, in the event of a school closure. Under current law, the Department of Veterans Affairs does not have the legal authority to restore any GI Bill benefits that have been used to attend ITT.

He’s also a co-sponsor of the Pell Grant Restoration Act, which ensures students do not lose semesters of Pell Grant eligibility due to a school closure.