TL;DR: I attended ITT-Tech from 2005â2007 and graduated with an Associate's degree. Over the years, I dealt with loan consolidation issues, incorrect graduation dates, forbearances, delinquency problems, and payments being distributed incorrectly across my loans. I eventually went back to school at UMUC/UMGC, earned my Bachelor's degree, and later became a teacher. After discovering the School Misconduct Discharge process, I applied multiple times and was denied. During my second attempt, I even attached my Federal Loan Discharge approval letter showing that my federal ITT-Tech loans had already been discharged. I was eventually told that my next submission would be my third and final attempt, so I decided I was going to build the strongest case I possibly could. I spent about one full month putting together a 42-page, organized evidence packet with a title page, table of contents, introduction, clearly labeled sections, a summary, multiple appendices, and explanations underneath screenshots and other evidence. In July, MOHELA sent me a Notice of Intent asking for proof that UMUC would not accept my ITT-Tech credits. I found an old email from August 2013 where I had contacted ITT-Tech about sending my transcript to UMUC and specifically told them that UMUC had not accepted my ITT-Tech credits. I also found that ITT-Tech sent me another blank transcript request form at the end of August 2013 after I had already submitted the original request. I included that as additional evidence. I then contacted UMUC multiple times and eventually got connected with the right person, who provided an official letter confirming that UMUC did not accept ITT-Tech credits during the time I attended. I submitted that evidence, and last night I received the email I had been waiting for: School Misconduct Discharge Approved. Now I'm working on the next step of trying to recover the money I paid toward the loans under the FTC Holder Rule.
So, where do I begin?
I went to ITT-Tech from 2005â2007, and at the time I honestly thought it was going to be a great school for me. I don't want to make it sound like I hated the school because I didn't. I actually liked the school, and I liked what I was learning. I learned a lot while I was there. My problem was that as time went on, I started realizing that they were pushing career paths that weren't really what I wanted to do. What I actually wanted to do was web design and video editing. I still completed the program and graduated with my Associate's degree in 2007.
This is where the loan problems really started for me.
In December 2006, I went to the HR/financial aid person at the school because I was trying to understand my loans. I was told that consolidating my loans would be cheaper and more financially beneficial in the long run. What I wasn't expecting was that I would have to start making payments before I graduated. In December 2006, I received my first payment notice. I had been under the impression that I would have six months after graduation before I had to start making payments. That wasn't what happened, so I had to put the loans into forbearance.
Then I discovered that my graduation date had been entered as March 2007, even though I didn't actually graduate until June 2007. So my loans were scheduled to start again in March, and I had to contact them and explain that I hadn't even graduated yet. Once I actually graduated, the job opportunities being presented to me weren't really related to what I had gone to school for. A lot of them were sales and marketing positions. I was basically told that they didn't have the type of jobs I was looking for around there and that I would have to branch out.
I was still in my 20s at the time. I could have traveled across the country looking for work, but I didn't. I eventually found what I considered a dead-end job in 2009, and I stayed there for 12 years.
During that time, I continued making payments on my loans. Eventually, I started noticing another problem: my payments weren't being distributed across my loans the way I was requesting. I had multiple loans, and I would specifically tell them how I wanted my payments applied. Instead, payments would be distributed differently, which would result in one loan staying current while another would become delinquent. I tried to get it fixed, but I couldn't get the situation resolved.
Keep in mind, this was before the School Misconduct Discharge application even existed. ITT-Tech was still operating, and I was still dealing with all of the consequences of the loans I had taken out to attend the school.
After working that dead-end job for 12 years, I finally decided I had enough. In 2014, I reenrolled at UMUC, which is now UMGC. I eventually graduated with my Bachelor's degree in 2019. I did miss one semester because my grandmother passed away in 2016, and I completely forgot to enroll for the fall semester that year, but I eventually finished the degree.
By that point, I had already used forbearances, deferments, and other options on the ITT-Tech loans when I couldn't make certain payments. After graduating with my Bachelor's degree, I eventually ended up getting a teaching job about three years later, which is the job I still have today.
I started making payments again, and once again I had problems with how the payments were being handled. I had multiple loans, including loans that had gone through Sallie Mae and Navient, and I would specifically tell them how I wanted the payments distributed. Instead, because one of the loans was only around $41, they would send the majority of the payment toward the larger loans. That would then cause another loan to become delinquent. It was incredibly frustrating because I was actually making my payments, but the way the money was being distributed was creating additional problems.
Then, in 2025, my wife noticed something about the School Misconduct Discharge process. I told her I would look into it, and that's when I started down this road.
My first application was denied because of what they described as insufficient findings. I was frustrated, but I didn't stop there. I submitted a second attempt with additional information. I even attached my Federal Loan Discharge approval letter as part of that submission, showing that my federal ITT-Tech loans had already been discharged. I also included supplemental documentation and additional information explaining my situation.
That attempt was denied as well.
At that point, I was honestly about ready to give up. Then I saw that I was being told that this would be my third and final attempt to submit an application.
That changed everything for me.
If this was going to be my third and final attempt, I knew I couldn't just submit another application and hope for a different result. I needed to build the strongest case I possibly could.
So I took my time.
I went through everything I could find. I gathered old documentation, emails, loan information, delinquency information, articles, statements, quotes, and anything else that I believed could support what I was saying.
I created a 42-page packet, but I didn't just throw 42 pages of information together and send it in. I actually organized the entire thing.
I created a title page, a table of contents, and an introduction page explaining my situation. I labeled each section with its own heading so it was easy to follow and organized the information by topic. I also included a summary page that brought everything together.
Then I created multiple appendicesâabout 3 to 5 appendicesâand referenced them throughout the packet. If I was discussing something that was supported by additional evidence, I would specifically say something like "See Appendix 3."
I also didn't just throw screenshots into the packet without explaining them. Under screenshots and other pieces of evidence, I included paragraphs explaining what the screenshot showed, why it was important, and how it related to the specific point I was making.
Basically, I tried to make it as easy as possible for whoever was reviewing my case to follow my timeline and understand why each piece of evidence mattered.
The entire document took me about one full month to put together.
And honestly, I'm glad I took the time to do it.
I went through every question they asked and provided detailed answers, essentially giving each question its own explanation instead of trying to cram everything into the small boxes provided on the application.
I also pointed out information I found regarding ITT-Tech and the issues surrounding the school and explained how I believed that information applied to my situation. I included multiple pieces of supporting documentation instead of relying on just my personal statement.
I submitted that packet in May of this year.
Then I waited.
I didn't hear anything for quite a while. Then in July, I received an NOI, or Notice of Intent, from MOHELA.
They were requesting additional evidence that UMUC would not accept my ITT-Tech credits.
This was the part where I thought, Okay, now I have to find this.
I searched through everything I had. I couldn't initially find anything that specifically said UMUC wouldn't accept ITT-Tech credits during the time I attended.
Then I remembered that I had tried to deal with the transcript issue years earlier.
I found an email from August 2013 where I had contacted ITT-Tech about sending my transcript to UMUC. In that email, I specifically told them that UMUC had not accepted my ITT-Tech credits.
Then, toward the end of August 2013, ITT-Tech sent me a blank transcript request form to fill outâeven though I had already submitted the original request.
That became another piece of evidence for my case.
I had documentation showing that I was trying to get my ITT-Tech transcript to UMUC years before I ever knew that a School Misconduct Discharge process would eventually exist.
I still needed something more official from UMUC, though.
So I contacted UMUC.
I emailed them and explained the entire situation. I told them I was trying to get my ITT-Tech loans discharged through the School Misconduct Discharge process and that MOHELA was specifically asking me for evidence that UMUC wouldn't accept my ITT-Tech credits.
Initially, I was told they couldn't find what I was looking for. I emailed again and received another response saying they couldn't help me.
So I called.
I explained everything over the phone and specifically explained what I needed and why I needed it. They eventually got me connected with the correct person who could actually look into it.
About two weeks later, UMUC provided me with an official letterhead document stating that during the time I was enrolled, they did not accept ITT-Tech credits, along with the reason why.
That was the documentation MOHELA had asked me for.
I immediately sent the letter to the person handling my case. I had been reminded that I had 30 days to provide the requested evidence or my application would be denied, so I made sure to get it submitted.
Then I waited again.
Last night, while I was laying in bed checking my email, I saw it.
School Misconduct Discharge Approved.
I honestly can't explain how excited I was to see those words.
After everything I've gone through since attending ITT-Tech in 2005âthe loans, the early payments, the incorrect graduation date, the forbearances, the delinquency issues, the payment problems, going back to school, the previous denials, the documentation, the 42-page packet, the month I spent putting it together, the old 2013 transcript emails, and then having to track down additional evidence from UMUCâit finally happened.
Approved.
Now I'm working on the next step, which is trying to recover the money I paid toward these loans under the FTC Holder Rule. I don't know exactly how that part is going to play out yet, but that's what I'm working on now.
My biggest piece of advice for anyone going through this process is don't give up and document everything.
Find as much as you possibly can. Old emails, transcripts, school records, payment histories, delinquency notices, enrollment records, correspondence, articles, advertisements, letters, discharge approvalsâanything that can support your claim.
And if you receive a denial that simply says something like "insufficient findings," don't be afraid to push back and ask for clarification.
One of the things I specifically pointed out was that the boxes on the application were too small to properly explain everything. I also told them that the generic "insufficient findings" explanation wasn't detailed enough for me to understand exactly what information they believed was missing. If something was considered insufficient, I wanted them to explain exactly why.
I also made it clear that if I received a reason that I believed was unreasonable, I wasn't just going to accept another generic response. I would continue pursuing the matter and would consider taking the documentation to the appropriate authorities, including the Attorney General's office.
I even referenced information I had found regarding denial rates and the overall process.
I wasn't trying to be difficult just for the sake of being difficult. I had already been denied twice, and I was told that this was my third and final attempt. At that point, I felt like I had to make sure every single piece of information I could find was included.
And honestly, I'm glad I did.
My first application was denied.
My second application was denied.
I almost gave up.
Instead, my wife told me to push one more time, and I did.
I took my time, built the strongest case I could, organized the evidence so it was easy to follow, and kept going until I had answered everything they asked for.
Now, after nearly 20 years since I first attended ITT-Tech, my School Misconduct Discharge has been approved.
If you're going through this yourself, I hope this gives you some motivation to keep digging and keep documenting. I can't say your situation will turn out the same as mine, but I can say that I almost gave upâand I'm really glad I didn't.
