ITT Tech not the problem

I disagree with the characterization of ITT Tech in Lexington as disgraced. I worked there as an adjunct instructor of electronics, telecom and networking for five years.

Most of my students learned a lot and have become successful. All of the instructors and staff that I worked with were excellent and dedicated to student success. ITT Tech was forced to close its campuses when the U.S. Department of Education gave it two weeks to raise a quarter billion dollars to guarantee 40 percent of outstanding student loans. The default rate on the student loans of ITT Tech graduates had risen to 22 percent. High default rates on student loans are a national and international problem.

The root problem is that many elementary students do not learn to read and write (about 25 percent in Kentucky). Yet they graduate from high school and are encouraged to enroll in college and rack up debt. I personally tutored several students who could not read textbooks, write reports or do simple math. I could teach them electronics, but I could not continue tutoring them in the workplace.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 3:43 PM with the headline "ITT Tech not the problem."