COLUMBUS, Ohio ― The for-profit Heritage College with 10 vocational campuses across eight states has closed abruptly, citing financial problems and decreased demand for its services.
Heritage College’s website said its campuses were permanently closed as of Tuesday. The business was established in 1986 and advertised training for careers in medical, dental and veterinary assistance; massage therapy; fitness training; and esthetics.
The campuses were in suburban Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Fort Myers and Jacksonville, Florida; Lake Forest, California; Little Rock, Arkansas; Kansas City, Missouri; Oklahoma City; and Wichita, Kansas, according to the website.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many students were enrolled at Heritage when it closed. Calls Thursday to its offices at Weston Educational Inc. in Denver were answered by a voicemail system that wasn’t accepting messages.
Students at the Columbus campus found a note taped to the door announcing it had closed Tuesday. Student Kimi Boyce told WBNS-TV that she anticipated graduating on Nov. 18, and now she’s out $12,000 and wasn’t sure if she will even receive a diploma.
“Can you imagine paying thousands of dollars and having nothing to show for it?” Boyce said.
The closure comes as some of the largest for-profit colleges have faced steep enrollment declines, growing competition, new regulation and government pressure, prompting some to also close.
