Angry Students Gather Outside Closed Doors At Heritage College

DENVER (CBS4) - Students enrolled in Heritage College gathered outside the doors of the now-closed campus on Wednesday.

The for-profit school closed on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of students wondering what happens to the thousands of dollars they paid for to attend classes there.

A notice posted on the door read that Heritage College was closed due to financial problems.

A neighboring business called police with complaints that the students were interfering.

An employee of the college spoke to the students and tried to offer help.

"Heritage … and I'm going to say 'we' because I've been here for so long … we made promises to all of you for services and goods that we failed to provide," said Heritage College employee Callie Parreco.

Parreco had worked for Heritage as national director of regulatory compliance. The students turned to her for help.

"I completely understand because it's about you. That family dissolved when we went under," Parreco said.

Students are concerned about what happens next. The college has only reached out via email and told students to watch their inboxes for updates.

Many students were in tears on Wednesday, worried about their tuition.

"They were signing loans on Monday knowing that they could not afford to keep those students," a Heritage student told CBS4. "We didn't have clean bathrooms, we didn't have school supplies."

"I want you to reach out to the Department of Education," Parreco told the students.

Teachers are also out of their jobs and not sure what will happen next. Parreco told CBS4 she has cancer and is worried.

"I don't know about my coverage," she said. "I know I don't have much longer and I begged them, 'Just give me my life insurance and I'll go on my merry way.'"

The Colorado Department of Higher Education told CBS4 it is working with officials from Heritage College to try to get the students their records and to try to place them with other career colleges.

Other for-profit colleges have recently closed in Colorado, including Westwood College and ITT Technical Institute.