For-Profit College to Close Its Brea and Santa Ana Campuses

Southern California International College, a for-profit school that offers certificates and two- and four-year degrees, is closing its Brea and Santa Ana campuses, putting an end to the institution that once had five locations.

About 150 students total attended the Orange County campuses, both in rented offices.

Executive Vice President Buzz Wolf said the two locations were losing money. “It’s basically just been a decision by the board that it’s not a viable business for us in the long term,” Wolf said.

The college is owned by International Education Corp. in Irvine, a privately held company that owns a number of schools around the country, including Taylor Business Institute in New York, Advanced Career Training in Georgia and Florida, and United Education Institute in Southern California. The schools offer business, secretarial, computer and medical-assisting classes. Southern California International College was the only one that offered a bachelor’s degree.

According to Dun & Bradstreet, International Education had sales last year of $42 million, down from $45 million three years earlier.

International Education acquired the Brea school two years ago when it was known as the Southern California College of Business and Law. The school had been established in 1987. The corporation opened the Santa Ana campus about the same time.

“We were trying to expand to Santa Ana because we thought we could make a financial go of the two campuses, and it just turned out we weren’t able to make it work,” Wolf said.

The company does not know exactly when the campuses will shut down.

All classes in progress will run to the end, Wolf said. Students who are close to completing a certificate program, which lasts seven months, will be allowed to finish. The school is also negotiating with other schools to accept student transfers, he said.

About 30 people work at the two campuses full time. Twenty or so will lose their jobs, with others being transferred to other International Education sites.

Southern California International College campuses in Los Angeles, Van Nuys and Ontario stopped admitting students about six months ago.

The Orange County campuses offered associate’s and bachelor’s degrees and certificate programs in business, computers and paralegal studies.