Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (CCi) was a for-profit post-secondary education company in North America. Its subsidiaries offered career-oriented diploma and degree programs in health care, business, criminal justice, transportation technology and maintenance, construction trades, and information technology. A remnant of the schools was owned by ECMC under the Altierus Career College brand until the last three campuses were closed in 2022.
At its peak, CCi operated over one hundred Everest, Heald and WyoTech campuses throughout the United States and Canada. The Los Angeles Times framed Corinthian Colleges as a collection of "castoff" schools that were taken over by Wall Street investors in 1999.
Corinthian closed their campuses in Canada on February 19, 2015, after the Ontario government suspended their operating license. On April 26, 2015, following a series of legal challenges by state and federal agencies, Corinthian Colleges announced that they would cease operations at all remaining United States locations. The closure affected more than sixteen thousand students and employees. Having been extensively investigated for fraudulent behavior by several jurisdictions, Corinthian Colleges, Inc. and twenty-four of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on May 4, 2015. In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would cancel $5.8 billion in federal student loan debt for 560,000 students who attended Corinthian.
History
Corinthian Colleges was founded in February 1995 by David Moore, Paul St. Pierre, Frank McCord, Dennis Devereux, and Lloyd Holland of National Education Centers, Inc., a for-profit operator of vocational schools based in Irvine, California. The company, whose business model was predicated on acquiring schools that were fundamentally sound but performing below their potential, expanded rapidly through acquisitions and organic growth.
Acquired institutes and colleges
American Motorcycle Institute
Ashmead College (Oregon and Washington) Blair College (Colorado Springs, Colorado) Bryman College Bryman Institute CDI College Duff's Business Institute (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Eton Technical Institute (Port Orchard, Washington) Florida Metropolitan University Georgia Medical Institute Kee Business College Las Vegas College National Institute of Technology (NIT) National School of Technology (NST) Olympia Career Training Institute Olympia College Parks College Rochester Business Institute Sequoia College Tampa College Western Business College
Corinthian Colleges faced numerous investigations and lawsuits, including a federal criminal investigation. California Attorney General Kamala Harris alleged that Corinthian Colleges targeted single parents living close to the poverty level, a demographic that its internal documents described as "composed of "isolated," 'impatient,' individuals with 'low self-esteem,' who have 'few people in their lives who care about them' and who are "stuck" and "unable to see and plan well for future," through aggressive and persistent internet and telemarketing campaigns and through television ads on daytime shows like Jerry Springer and Maury Povich."
On July 3, 2014, Corinthian Colleges agreed to execute a shutdown of twelve schools and sell off eighty-five other schools. On February 19, 2015, the government of Ontario suspended the company's operation license, resulting in the immediate closure of all Canadian campuses.
In February 2015, the nonprofit Educational Credit Management Corporation took ownership of more than half of Corinthian Colleges campuses, agreeing to forgive student debt on Corinthian College's Genesis loans.
On April 26, 2015, Corinthian Colleges announced that they would cease operations at all remaining locations effective April 27, a move affecting more than sixteen thousand students and employees.
On May 4, 2015, Corinthian filed for bankruptcy in Delaware.
Schools
Everest
CCi operated Everest campuses in the United States and Canada, although all US campuses were to be sold or closed beginning on July 3, 2014, leaving only the Canadian campuses under CCi's control.
Everest Institute offered diploma programs. Everest College offered diploma and associate degree programs. Everest University offered diploma, associate, bachelor's, and master's degree programs. There were ten Everest University campuses across Florida, which were formerly known as Florida Metropolitan University.