We have been focused on student debt recently, and with good reason. It’s an important bankruptcy topic, let alone an important social topic. Today we will be continuing that discussion, albeit through a very bizarre and unexpected lens.
A college out west has filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its campuses. Yes, you read that right — not a college student, but a college. As a result of the bankruptcy, thousands of students are suddenly in education limbo, and they have no idea what will become of their collegiate careers.
The college filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and then sent an email to all of their students informing them of the closure. All employees at the college lost their jobs as well.
It’s a shocking decision that you don’t hear very often. But it does reveal an incredible double standard, doesn’t it? This college hit hard financial times, so hard that they actually couldn’t keep going. They did what they had to do and filed for bankruptcy.
However, a student in the college’s very same position wouldn’t be able to get rid of his or her student debt through a bankruptcy. That debt stays with them essentially forever, while the college’s debt could potentially disappear.
This story also raises the question of what the college was doing with its money. Tuition rates are very high right now, and with 11 campuses, you would think the college would be doing quite well financially. This is a very bizarre story indeed, and hopefully the students who have been affected by this sudden closure will receive the help they need in the coming weeks and months.
Source: NBC Los Angeles, “Students Demand Answers as Bryman College Files for Bankruptcy, Closes Campuses,” Christina Cocca and Patrick Healy, July 28, 2014