ITT Tech students at the Tampa campus were turned away after officials told them the school would open doors Thursday afternoon to advise them on how to move forward and receive transcripts.

“They didn’t even open the door,” said student Joan Perez.

  • Students turned away at ITT Tech’s Tampa campus
  • Students told they would be allowed to talk with advisors
  • ITT Tech campuses nationwide shut down Tuesday

A career services official told us that students would be allowed in to talk with employees from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Several students showed up, but all they found were instructions on how to request transcripts taped to the locked door.

Perez was set to graduate later this month, but her graduation has been cancelled. She finished her bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, but is still unsure of her future.

“I don’t even know if I’ll be getting a diploma,” Perez said.

Student Devin Plumb was trying frantically to get transcripts so he could make application deadlines at other schools. The veteran, who served in Afghanistan, says he also whittled down his GI Bill benefits at ITT.

“What are we supposed to do now? Nothing, waiting in limbo and hoping we get our transcripts in the mail so we can move forward with our lives,” Plumb said.

We tried to ask employees at ITT Tech’s Tampa campus why students were turned away. No one answered us, but an employee did walk outside to place a paper bag over our camera. After that, our crew was kicked off campus.

We requested more information from ITT Tech’s corporate office about why students were not allowed inside today to talk with advisors as promised. A spokesperson had this response via email:

“Our focus and priority right now is helping students with their records and identifying future educational options.  While the campuses are closed, as we communicated to students directly via email and on the internal student portal on Tuesday, we will continue to provide resources to assist them.  We encourage all students to utilize the resources made available to them including how to receive grades and transcripts, articulation agreements, a list of schools near them offering similar programs of study, and other key contact information. Students can also view our website, www.itt-tech.edu, for additional information and questions.”