Local News

Heald Students Left Wondering What To Do Next Following Closure

April 27, 2015 / 5:18 PM PDT / CBS Sacramento

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – Local students are left scrambling after Heald Colleges across California closed their doors with little notice.

Students in Roseville arrived Monday morning to find their campus closed.

Heald's parent company Corinthian colleges announced Sunday that it would close all its remaining schools. The decision comes after the U.S. Department of Education fined the company for misrepresentation.

"I'm a single mom, two kids, you know this was my future."

But Kelly McHaney's future as a medical assistant is now uncertain.

"I'm $25,000 in debt, and I'm 20 weeks away from my graduation and I've got nothing to show for it."

It comes as her school, Heald College, announces it is shutting down after failing to find a buyer. That includes Heald's campuses here in Roseville and Rancho Cordova.

Ryan Shirley was using veteran's aid dollars to attend Heald.

"They pretty much offered me everything that I really needed to complete my education goals," Shirley said.

But state and federal officials disagree – suing Heald's parent company Corinthian Colleges in 2013, claiming it misleads students like Ryan as to the value of their education. Federal authorities even issued a heavy $30 million fine against the for-profit company.

It seems that $30 million fine was the final straw. The company's CEO said no one would buy the college.

"Unfortunately, the current regulatory environment would not allow us to complete a transaction with several interested parties that would have allowed for a seamless transition for our students," Corinthian Colleges CEO Jack Massimino wrote.

So what about these and the 16,000 students like them?

"The problem with most for profit trade schools is that the credits are non-transferrable," said consumer attorney Stuart Talley.

But Talley says the federal government does have a program to forgive student debt in situations like this.

"You don't get your time back and a lot problems will provide a huge delay in people achieving their goals," Talley said.

Something these students are realizing.

"All we want is what is due to us," McHaney said.

There is also a state fund that covers some schools for loan repayment in cases like these, but Heald was not one of those schools. Corinthian's other schools WyoTech and Everest were.

If you are or know a student from Heald wondering what to do next, head to https://oag.ca.gov/corinthian for more information.