CLC Moves to Liquidate Assets, Appeal Payment

Vocational education chain operator Computer Learning Centers Inc. said Friday it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate its assets and appealed a $187-million payment ordered by the Department of Education.

Documents that the company filed electronically in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va., were not immediately available. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month, the Manassas, Va.-based company listed $105.5 million in assets and $66.3 million in debts.

About 9,600 students of CLC, including 709 in Los Angeles, and 55 local instructors were affected by the company’s sudden closures of its 25 campuses in 11 states on Monday.

The company, which is more than 40 years old, is working with other institutions to make arrangements for students to continue where they left off academically and financially, CLC President John Corse said.

If the company is unable to set up a plan, students will receive a notification form from the Bankruptcy Court in the next two weeks telling them how to submit a claim for a tuition refund, Corse said.

“I’m angry,” said student Mark Winer. “I feel like they’ve stolen from us. The school knew that this was going on. I’ve only been there for three months. It wasn’t supposed to be a fly-by-night school, and now here we are and I’m possibly liable for over $12,000 in loans.”

Luis Vargas, 20, is furious that he worked so hard to pay back his $2,200 loan from the school in the first five months of school.

“I feel like it’s a one-in-a-million chance that I’ll get my money back,” he said. Vargas makes $19,000 a year and needs to help support his mother and brother.

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Bloomberg News contributed to this report.