Heald College’s closing flummoxes hundreds

Brandon Sugiura, 33, is two quarters short of getting his $30,000 degree in business administration from Heald College, which abruptly closed Monday, ending a nearly century-old educational institution in Hawaii.

"I am kind of worried. I’m just concerned about the transferring part," said Sugi­ura, who is hoping to transfer the credits he’s earned to Argosy University. "We need choices here. It’s very limited choice in terms of schools. I’m very sad to see this go."

Dozens of students gathered on the sidewalk and parking lot of the Heald campus on Kapiolani Boulevard, tearfully saying their goodbyes and waving to drivers honking their horns in support of the displaced students. Emotional faculty and staff quietly cleared out their belongings in the now-vacant office space.

"We’re rallying together to be a support for each other," said Kelly Bance, 27, who enrolled in the business administration program in 2013. "They kind of prepared us for something, but we just didn’t think it was going to happen because we got to come back to school last week. It was the first week of a new quarter, and so we’re all fired up, ready to start our new classes."

Bance also was in a federal work study program, "so technically I lost employment as well."

"It’s sad because we’ve invested so much time and we’ve made so many friends and family members here," Bance added. "We’re really like a family here. It’s not like the mainland and Cali­for­nia — how their style is — we have the ohana. We’re really tightknit."

The educational organization had catered to nontraditional students, many of whom are older, have families and thought of Heald as a "second chance" at earning a college degree.

"Nearly 1,000 students have been affected and now, through no fault of their own, face a future of great uncertainty and doubt without a campus and school to attend," Lt. Gov. Shan Tsu­tsui wrote in a letter to David Lassner, president of the University of Hawaii system. The letter urged Lassner to provide displaced students with tuition-free classes in the summer or fall semesters.

"The impact on the students’ lives and futures is disconcerting," Tsu­tsui said. "It’s been revealed that so many students have made personal sacrifices to attend the school, including the story of one student who quit her restaurant job so that she could earn a degree to make a better life for herself and her son. Many of these students were also on the verge of graduating."

The college is hosting meetings Wednesday and Thursday for students to obtain their transcripts and learn about options for continuing their education.

Heald’s parent, Corinthian Colleges, announced Sunday that it was ceasing operations at its remaining 30 locations, affecting 16,000 students nationwide. Students may be able to apply for a loan discharge.

However, it is unclear what course credits are transferable to other colleges or universities.

About 1,700 students attended the school, and 90 faculty taught there — 33 full time — in the fall of 2013, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Tuition is estimated at $13,620 a year, with books and supplies estimated at $1,500. Total expenses for an academic year are estimated at $20,637 for students who live with family, and $31,995 for students who live off-campus in other accommodations. The average loan debt is $9,166, with 89 percent of all beginning students receiving financial aid.

In the 2013-2014 academic year, the school awarded 532 associate degrees, more than half of which were in health professions and related programs, and 120 of which were in business, management and marketing.

A tearful Roxanne Bal landed a job at Heald as a student services adviser and online coordinator after earning a degree in Heald’s business adminstration program in 2005.

"That piece of paper got me my dream job," she said. "I consider Heald a second chance in life. A lot of (students) are older. They’re not your traditional students who come straight from high school. They come from broken homes and low-income backgrounds. We’re here to give them a shot in life to become successful. We just give them the opportunity, and they run with it. This is definitely a sad day."

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Star-Advertiser Data News Editor Dana Williams contributed to this report.