{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-doug-jones-calls-on-birmingham-based-for-profit-corporation-ceo-to-assist-students-after-abrupt-nationwide-closure-announced", "Senator Doug Jones Calls on Birmingham-based For-Profit Corporation CEO to Assist Students After Abrupt Nationwide Closure Announced", "2018-12-06", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Doug Jones", "J000300", "www.jones.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington,\r\nDC  In\r\nresponse to news\r\nthat Education Corporation of America (ECA) would be abruptly closing its\r\ncampuses in Alabama and across the country, U.S. Senator Doug Jones wrote to\r\nCEO Stu Reed today calling for ECA to help students navigate their options and\r\nunderstand the resources available to them. ECA represents Brightwood Career\r\nInstitute, Brightwood College, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America, and\r\nVirginia College throughout the country. Based in Birmingham, ECA operates\r\nfor-profit Virginia College campuses in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, and\r\nMontgomery and serves more than 3,800 Alabama students. Of those students, 670\r\nare using GI Bill benefits. The\r\nclosures were announced yesterday and are effective this Friday. According to\r\nECA's website, information for\r\nstudents is currently not expected to be available until on or around December\r\n17, which could delay students from being able to transfer to another\r\ninstitution in time for the spring semester. In\r\nhis letter, Jones urged Reed to speed up outreach and assistance to students,\r\nwriting, After abruptly closing the doors, your decision to make students and\r\nfamilies wait nearly two weeks to receive any information about their next\r\nsteps is simply unacceptable. You have a responsibility to these students,\r\nincluding our veterans and service members, to ensure they have all of the\r\ntools and information they need to move forward, including the choice between\r\nreceiving a discharge of their federal student loans or transferring to a\r\nsimilar program if they can find an institution willing to accept their\r\ncredits. ECA\r\noperates more than 70 campuses nationwide and serves more than 20,000 students,\r\nincluding 4,000 who are veterans or military service members. Full\r\ntext of Senator Jones' letter is below. December\r\n6, 2018   Mr.\r\nStu Reed Chief\r\nExecutive Officer Education\r\nCorporation of America 3660\r\nGrandview Parkway, Suite 300 Birmingham,\r\nAL 35243 Dear\r\nMr. Reed: I\r\nam writing on behalf of the students in Alabama and across the country who are\r\nenrolled in one of Education Corporation of America's colleges, including\r\nBrightwood Career Institute, Brightwood College, Ecotech Institute, Golf\r\nAcademy of America, and Virginia College. When the news broke yesterday\r\nregarding your decision to abruptly close these colleges, I was immediately\r\nconcerned about the futures of 20,000 students enrolled nationwide in 20\r\nstates, including 4,000 veterans and military service members using the G.I.\r\nBill. In\r\nAlabama, Education Corporation of America's Virginia College campuses will\r\nclose in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery, leaving a combined\r\ntotal of more than 3,800 students in my state, including 670 student veterans\r\nwho have been using the G.I. Bill benefits they have earned, left scrambling to\r\nfigure out their educational future. According to your company's website, there\r\nwill be information for students regarding transcript retrieval, transfer, and\r\ncontact information that you expect to start loading on or around December\r\n17, 2018. After\r\nabruptly closing the doors, your decision to make students and families wait\r\nnearly two weeks to receive any information about their next steps is simply\r\nunacceptable. You\r\nhave a responsibility to these students, including our veterans and service\r\nmembers, to ensure they have all of the tools and information they need to move\r\nforward, including the choice between receiving a discharge of their federal\r\nstudent loans or transferring to a similar program if they can find an\r\ninstitution willing to accept their credits. Veteran students also need to\r\nunderstand the impact of the closure on their G.I. Bill benefit eligibility. I\r\nam deeply troubled by reports that many Education Corporation of America\r\ncolleges have not been informing students of their right to seek a closed\r\nschool discharge of their federal loan as is required by federal law under the\r\n2016 borrower defense rule. Additionally, students who are encouraged to transfer\r\nshould understand the limitations of fully transferring credits, and the impact\r\non their eligibility for a loan discharge. I\r\nurge you to do all you can to inform these students of their options. They have\r\ninvested thousands of dollars into your institution and could potentially lose\r\neverything.  Sincerely, Doug\r\nJones U.S.\r\nSenator  ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-doug-jones-calls-on-birmingham-based-for-profit-corporation-ceo-to-assist-students-after-abrupt-nationwide-closure-announced"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4301370829343796, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}