Bryman College closes for good, leaving students stuck

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Bryman College closed its doors on Monday, one a week after its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The owner of the chain of vocational schools announced the permanent closing that affects five campuses in the Bay Area.

Some students knew this day was coming, while others were surprised. Students got an email over the weekend that beckoned the students to the college's administrative offices for a closed-door meeting. When they left, they were clutching brown envelopes containing their sealed transcripts and other paperwork.

"They're just giving us our transcripts. Some people are not getting anything because they don't have their files. Everything is getting lost. We need to look for another school that will accept our credits," said dental assistant student Cinthya Vicueth.

In May, Bryman College had to suspend classes when sheriff deputies posted an eviction notice at its Winchester Boulevard campus in San Jose for non-payment of rent. The landlord's attorney told ABC7 NEWS that the college was over $80,000 in arrears on its rent. The dispute was resolved, and classes resumed until Monday.

"The school closed down about three months ago, and ever since then, my whole family and I have been saying it's only a matter of time until something like this happens, and it's true," said student Jessica Glincher.

Two-hundred-seventy-eight students were enrolled at the Bryman College campuses in San Jose, San Francisco, Hayward and Los Angeles. They were paying about $17,000 to $20,000 for courses in health care fields.

The state's Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education met with students on Monday to help them get their diplomas, financial aid information and transcripts.

A spokesperson for Bryman College said students could end up being reimbursed for tuition and expenses through the Student Tuition Recovery Fund. It's also likely the federal government could forgive any loan debt because the school's closure.

Bryman College wasn't as forgiving to the students when they missed payments.

"One student was told to stop getting her nails done and her hair done and concentrate on her financial aid. As soon as you missed a payment you would get a phone call. One, two, three phone calls until you were caught up," said student Sylvia Sotelo.

Transferring credits to a similar vocational school is difficult. State officials said it's more likely the students will have to start their education over.

Several students praised the school and administrators, despite the sudden closure.

"I love this school. It's very good school, very good teachers, very good manager. I don't know," said pharmaceutical technician student Shahram Khoshgoon.