Five Health Care Certificate Programs Across California Shut Down
On Friday, five for-profit colleges in California that offered health care certificate programs closed after the company that owned the campuses filed for bankruptcy, AP/KSBY reports (AP/KSBY, 7/29).
Colleges Involved
BioHealth College's San Jose-based school for pharmacy technicians and biotechnology technicians closed last week.
Four campuses run by Bryman Colleges -- which was acquired by BioHealth College in 2013 --also closed. The campuses were located in:
- Hayward;
- Los Angeles;
- San Francisco; and
- San Jose.
Bryman offered certificate programs for:
- Dental assistants;
- Massage therapists;
- Medical assistants; and
- Medical insurance billing and coding.
According to the Wall Street Journal's "Bankruptcy Beat," tuition for the programs ranged from $16,000 to $18,000 last year.
Details of Closures
On Friday, all employees at the five campuses were laid off and about 280 students received notice over the weekend that their respective schools would be closed effective Monday, according to affected individuals (Gleason, "Bankruptcy Beat," Wall Street Journal, 7/28).
California Department of Consumers Affairs spokesperson Russ Heimerich said that BioHealth and Bryman students will be entitled to federal loan forgiveness and in some cases refunds for private loans and other expenses, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
While students are able to obtain their transcripts, there is no guarantee that they will be able to transfer the credits they earned to another program, according to the Mercury News (Murphy, San Jose Mercury News, 7/29).