CRANSTON – It’s not closing immediately, but the Gibbs College campus in Cranston is one of nine programs that are slated to be shut down over the next few years by parent company Career Education Corp. of Hoffman Estates, Ill.
The company announced plans earlier this month to “teach out” the programs – meaning they won’t cease operations until the students currently enrolled have graduated. That means all nine affected programs are likely to close by the end of 2009.
During the teach-out period, each campus will continue to operate with minimal disruption to current students, enabling them to complete their programs at the current location, the company said. Student services – including internships, financial aid and student records – will remain available on each campus until the last student graduates. Upon closure, records and other student support services will move to one central location and will be made accessible via the Internet.
Career Education had attempted to sell the programs, as part of a “strategic divestiture,” but “it could not find a suitable arrangement that would be acceptable to purchasers and protect the short and long-term interests of the schools’ students, faculty and staff,” the company said.
Founded in Providence in 1911 by Katharine Gibbs, as a business and secretarial school, Gibbs had expanded both its curriculum and its reach over the years, opening campuses in New York, Boston and other locations and adding career-focused training in fields including fashion design, criminal justice, graphic design and multimedia, and medical assisting.
Gibbs College was acquired by Career Education in 1997, for $20 million. It moved its local campus from Providence to Cranston in 2004. The former school at Butler Avenue and South Angell Street is being transformed into the 11-condominium development 77 South Angell. (READ MORE)
Beside the Gibbs campus in Cranston, the programs slated for closure include the Gibbs College campuses in Boston; Norwalk, Conn.; and Livingston and Piscataway, N.J.; and the Katharine Gibbs Schools in New York City and Norristown, Pa.
Additional information about Gibbs College, Katharine Gibbs School and their parent company, Career Education Corp., is available at www.GoGibbs.com.
