Everest College closes 14 locations, including Windsor campus

The Windsor campus of Everest College in Windsor, Ont, on Feb.19, 2015. (Melissa Nakhavoly / CTV Windsor)

Everest College suddenly closed 14 campuses on Thursday, including one in downtown Windsor.

Officials with the Ontario government say they suspended the school’s licence due to concerns it could no longer be financially responsible.

The Windsor Campus has been in the community for 20 years, according to the school’s website.

There were 13 different programs offered in Windsor, specializing in short-term career training.

St. Clair College officials in Windsor are inviting the Everest students to drop in and get information about next steps if they want to continue their education at the college. The students are welcome to meet with St. Clair representatives on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the cafeteria at the south campus.

Across all of the Everest campuses, the school had an enrolment of about 2,400 students, primarily focused of training for careers in the business, technology and health care sectors.

It also employed 450 staff members.

Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Reza Moridi said in a statement that he was “saddened” by the news, and that the province would work to support affected staff and students.

“This is an unfortunate situation for students and employees,” said Serge Buy, CEO of the National Association of Career Colleges, in a news release. “We are confident that plans prepared by the Ontario government and supported by our sector will mitigate any impact on students.”

Last summer, all 14 campuses were put up for sale as part of a broader move by parent company Corinthian Colleges, which closed 12 of its locations in the United States.

Earlier this week, Corinthian Colleges was suspended from public trading on the Nasdaq stock market for failing to file periodic reports on time.

The school will have a budget of $3 million to complete training and refund students’ tuition fees, Moridi said.

With files from CTVNews.ca