Local tech school steps up to help ITT Tech students

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Within hours of ITT Tech shutting down campuses nationwide Tuesday, including those right here in Washington, another local school is stepping up to help students left behind.

The school is called "Coding Dojo" based in Bellevue.

Students there pay $12,000 for a 14-week course that teaches skills needed to work as a software and web developer.

Now, Coding Dojo is giving local ITT Tech students another option to continue their education.

“We asked ourselves is there anything we can do,” says Richard Wang, Coding Dojo CEO. “Anything we can do to make a difference to help students to overcome this challenge.”

Wang says his team decided to give local ITT students -- who apply to their school and get accepted -- $4,000 deducted off their tuition.  That’s the amount typically given for a scholarship to the school.

The school currently has 121 students enrolled at their Bellevue campus. Zak Hussain is in the middle of his program.

“I love going to school here. I don’t expect Coding Dojo to shut down anytime soon,” says Hussain.

Hussain says he picked this school after seeing alumni getting jobs at major companies like Amazon and Microsoft.

Wang says Coding Dojo does not guarantee employment, but their job placement rates are over 90 percent for graduates who complete their career services program.

Wang encourages students to look beyond empty promises when picking any school.

“There are many players in this space, and it’s hard to distinguish who has best quality,” says Wang. “You have to look at quality education it’s providing.”

Coding Dojo is not currently letting students transfer their credits from ITT Tech. The school also doesn’t offer federal financial aid.

Cox Media Group