'It was gaslighting': Students upset over Pittsburgh Technical College closure

Bryce Bladen of Gettysburg didn’t mince words Tuesday about having moved across state to pursue a degree in graphic design at Pittsburgh Technical College — a degree he suddenly must finish elsewhere.

“It was gaslighting,” the 20-year-old said of what turned out to be dubious reassurances.

For months, college leaders including President Alicia B. Harvey-Smith said PTC had no plans to close, even as financial and enrollment woes mounted, as employees and board members left, and even as the school’s accrediting body warned publicly Friday that PTC’s days might be numbered.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, in that statement, rejected the school’s teach-out plan as insufficient and said the commission’s board acted to “remind the institution of its obligation to plan for orderly closure.”

Nevertheless, it wasn’t until late Monday that the school’s website replaced an assurance that PTC would not cease operations with an announcement that this quarter would be the 80-year-old institution’s last. It set an Aug. 9 closure date.

“We kept being told that there was going to be a turnaround, and it was just honestly gaslighting us,” Bladen told TribLive Tuesday. “We kind of knew it was coming.”

What’s next?

It means that PTC’s students, listed officially at 1,066, have become the latest group to face worrisome questions, joining students at other colleges and universities nationwide that have announced closures.

What about refunds and loan forgiveness for financial aid not fully utilized? What share of their academic credits will transfer, and to where on such short notice?

Bladen said students are asking each other, “ ‘What are we going to do?’ I knew they were still trying to get students there for the July quarter. So what are these students that have already put the down deposits in for housing, or put the down deposits just for coming to school, going to do? Are these people getting their money back?”

He said he received about $20,000 in college scholarships but those funds will not transfer to another school.

Bladen, who lives in a campus residence hall that is partially empty, said his final quarter before his degree was to involve an internship. He has built up fallback options but worries about classmates less prepared to absorb the sudden news.

The college in Oakdale, a suburb west of Pittsburgh, said Monday evening that pressure facing private colleges generally had been compounded by internal attacks against leadership. It explored a merger, sale and other ways to find a path forward.

“Despite continued efforts to raise revenues and address the school’s long-standing financial challenges, the nonprofit’s board determined that long-term fiscal stability was no longer possible,” its statement read.

Unanswered questions

The website Monday evening said a question-and-answer explainer with necessary information “will be posted to this page shortly.”

But later Tuesday, the school posted to its website information pertaining to its teach out plans, as well as letters from Harvey-Smith to students and employees. “I assure you that this decision was not made lightly. We recognize the profound impact this will have on you, your families and the community, this is why we took the time needed to exhaust all possible alternatives before making this critical decision.,” she wrote to students.

Students living on campus are asked to move out by July 1.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has oversight authority over nonprofits, including PTC.

“We are reviewing the circumstances of the impending closure and any transfer or loss of assets,” spokesman Brett Hambright said Tuesday.

He said students have the option to file a complaint with the AG’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“Generally speaking, our office typically tries to assist with private debt cancellation and refund issues to the extent warranted,” Hambright said. “For example, in the past, we have obtained cancellation of outstanding student accounts receivables related to the closed school.”

The U.S. Department of Education had already placed the school on heightened cash monitoring. Middle States had placed the school on probation in March. On June 6, it gave the school until June 28 to demonstrate why its accreditation should not be withdrawn.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a public relations firm hired by the college had not addressed how many faculty and staff will be impacted by the closure, or if Harvey-Smith would be available to discuss the situation. She has previously been unavailable.

Aaron Shenck, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Career Schools, has said upward of a dozen of institutions potentially able to help students finish their education include the Community College of Allegheny County.

PTC was founded in 1946, originally as Pittsburgh Technical Institute. It changed its name as it transitioned in 2016 from a for-profit college to a nonprofit institution.

Years earlier, in 2000, it shifted location from the City of Pittsburgh to a 180-acre campus in Oakdale. At the time, it pointed to enrollment and programmatic growth for its decision.

The location at 1111 McKee Road includes student housing and a six-story education building, according to bank and college records.

As of January, the college’s website listed 28 programs, most of them associate degree and certificate offerings, in areas from business administration and technology to culinary arts, nursing and welding. Its bachelor’s programs are in business, management, and information systems and technology.

For months, internal discord has pitted some faculty, staff and students against PTC’s board and Harvey-Smith, who became president in 2019.

Anonymous complaints accused her of financial and other misconduct, and produced a vote of no-confidence and led to an internal investigation. She in turn has said she has been unfairly targeted.

PTC’s announced closure was the latest in a string of others in recent days. On June 5 Triangle Tech, an 80-year-old institution whose six campuses in Pennsylvania include Pittsburgh and Greensburg, announced its closure with the graduating class of June 2025. University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, closed on Friday.