Courtney Announces That U.S. Dept. of Education Will Provide Information and Resources to Students of Defunct Ridley-Lowell

(Washington, DC) —Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will provide resources for students of the defunct Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute that closed without notice on April 4. On its website, ED has added Ridley-Lowell to its list of closed intuitions and will provide information to students on topics such as obtaining official transcripts, options for discharging student loans or contacting student loan servicers. ED will also hold an online webinar to provide more information to students and answer questions on Monday, April 23 at 2:00 PM. Courtney wrote to ED requesting this action on Friday, April 6.

"The sudden and stunning decision by Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute to close its campuses last week left Connecticut students with nowhere to turn. That is why I called on the Department to act quickly to provide information and resources for students," said Courtney. "Many of Ridley-Lowell's students used federal student loans and grants to pay tuition and it is imperative that we get them the resources they need to make good choices on what to do next. I am glad that the Department is moving quickly to exercise its statutory authority to protect both taxpayers and the students who put their faith in this school's promise of a certificate that would provide gainful employment. When I wrote to Secretary DeVos last week, I was simply asking for the same swift action that has been used in the past with similar situations such as ITT Tech and Corinthian Colleges under the prior administration. As a member of House Education and the Workforce Committee, my office and committee staff will continue to aggressively pursue relief for these students."

Click here to view a fact sheet available on ED's website for Ridley-Lowell students

Click here to view an upcoming schedule of webinars

Click here to read Courtney's April 6 letter to Secretary DeVos

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