ITI Students to Complete Education

Students of the Information Technology Institute (ITI) in Halifax will be able to complete their education, with ITI curriculum and facilitators, in the current location. In announcing the plan, Education Minister Jane Purves said students will also be able to graduate with an ITI diploma.

"I am pleased to have an agreement that delivers the same program, in the same place, with qualified facilitators," Ms. Purves said. "This is what the students wanted -- in fact, it's what they paid for."

The department has been working with the ITI receiver, Ernst and Young Inc., since the minister met with students on Aug. 21. Today, the receiver notified the minister that ITI is insolvent and the company cannot meet its contractual obligations to existing students.

As a result, the department is entering into an agreement with the receiver to assume responsibility for the train-out, using the ITI program. The receiver is also pursuing an agreement with a potential purchaser.

"Our goal was to deliver the same quality of education to students, at the most reasonable cost," Ms. Purves said. "We've achieved that goal."

The train-out at a maximum cost of $1.2 million will be paid through the training completion fund, set up in the new Private Career Colleges Act to help protect students. The amount is based solely on cost-recovery, without profit.

The minister has also asked department staff to review private career college regulations to identify ways to add protection for students and minimize costs to the training completion fund in future.

"As one example, ITI students were required to pay 100 per cent of their tuition when they entered the program," the minister said. "That's hard for the student to manage. It also means that, if a school closes, there is no tuition to assist with train-out, so the entire cost must come from the completion fund."

The minister thanked the students and facilitators for their professionalism and patience.

"Despite a whole lot of uncertainty, these students kept studying and progressing toward their future," she said. "This speaks to their professionalism and to a successful future in the work world."

There are 197 students enrolled at the Halifax ITI, in various stages of their training.