SAN ANTONIO – As of Monday, at least 80 former Career Point students had contacted St. Philip’s College, and about 20 had visited the school’s admissions office, according to Adrian Jackson, spokesperson for St. Philip’s College.
They were among the dozens of displaced students who gathered en masse before sunrise Monday at Career Point’s campus at Wonderland of the Americas Mall.
Many only weeks away from graduating as licensed vocational nurses or registered nurses, the students are demanding thousands of dollars in tuition; some paid out of pocket, others in school loans.
A letter posted on the Career Point website said, “We are working very hard to reach an agreement with local institutions to conduct a ‘teach-out’ of your current program.”
Leo Zuniga, the spokesman for Alamo Colleges said, “Come see us. Come talk to our advisers. Come talk to our counselors.”
Zuniga said two enrollment fairs are set for Nov. 5 and Dec. 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Philip’s College.
“But they don’t need to wait,” Zuniga said.
They also can visit welcome centers during the week at any of its five Alamo Colleges: Palo Alto, St. Philip’s, Northwest Vista, Northeast Lakeview and San Antonio.
“We’re going to make every effort to accommodate these students,” Zuniga said. “They’re kind of in a panic mode right now.”
This is not the first time the college has offered to help displaced students. Earlier this year, students from ITT Tech were provided a similar offer when its doors closed.
Some students said they were worried their credits would not transfer because they had taken their final exams.
“That we need to analyze and go through the process of analyzing each transcript,” Zuniga said.
The for-profit vocational training school with two campuses in San Antonio, also had a campus in Austin, and another in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its website said it offered courses in nursing, business, information technology and cosmetology.
But in an email Sunday, Larry Earle, the school’s president and CEO, told students, faculty and staff, Career Point was closing effective immediately.
The latest letter said in additional to future updates, “We will schedule times for you to pick up records and additional information.”
Asked why they had chosen Career Point over a school like St. Philip’s, some students said they wanted to finish their coursework as soon as possible, in order to find work and support their families. They said Career Point College had a one-year program, while St. Philip’s is a two-year school. Another said they thought Career Point had a better "passing rate" than the East Side community college.
She said cost was a factor and her credits would be transferable. But Yahner said her heart goes out Career Point students.
She said, “I know that won’t happen at St. Philip’s College. We’re not-for-profit.”