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ITT Tech Abruptly Closes Campuses Nationwide Following Federal Actions

(CBS) -- They invested thousands of dollars in their education, but now students at ITT Technical Institute find their campuses closed.

ITT Technical Institute ceased operations nationwide Tuesday. They operated campuses in Oak Brook, Orland Park, Arlington Heights and Merrilliville, Indiana.

CBS2's Vince Gerasole reports, the ITT campus in Arlington heights was locked up tight Tuesday, no one in the administrative offices, student lounges empty, but display monitors touting the school's IT programs were still playing behind glass doors.

The scene was repeated at the school's Oak Brook Campus as well.

As this for-profit tech school abruptly closed its 130 campuses nationwide, It impacts 40,000 students and 8,000 employees.

Last week, Washington cut off access to federal financial aid for new students, saying the school was not in compliance with accreditation and asked for more than $150 million in sanctions to assure it was financially viable.

The Indiana-based school said it "Exhausted the exploration of alternatives," and that the sanctions denied them due process.

The school entices new students with online su

Local students are clueless as to what to do. "What does everyone do about student loans? I king of would assume there would be more communication," said Scott Wooten, a student in Memphis.

"What students should do is apply for a closed-school discharge. That way, all of their student loans should be discharged, if they're currently there. In addition, what they should do is reach out to community colleges to see if their credits will transfer." Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says.

Students may visit the Federal website at studentaid.gov/IIT or call the hotline at (800) 433-3243 for more information.

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