Harrington College of Design (HCD) located in Chicago, Illinois, completed its teach out and the campus officially closed on August 11, 2018. Harrington was institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). For accreditation questions, please contact HLC at https://www.hlcommission.org/About-HLC/contact-us.html. In addition, HCD offered two undergraduate programs that were programmatically accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design was accredited from 8/94 to 12/16 and the Associate of Technology in Interior Design was accredited from 8/76 to 8/95 at the Pre-Professional level.
HCD’s parent company will continue to provide a variety of methods to help students obtain general and specific information related to HCD, and serve as a resource for academic transcripts, student records, student finance, and career services. Contact information for these available resources is as follows.
The website, https://www.careered.com/closedschool, provides information on resources available, including student records, transcripts and career services assistance.
Transcripts are available through the Parchment Exchange site that manages processing and delivery of transcripts. To obtain a transcript go to www.Parchment.com. Additional directions and a link to the Parchment site can be found on the website listed above.
If there are questions about student records, please contact 866-470-7445 or records@careered.com.
To make a payment or for questions regarding your accounts please contact us by any one of the following:
Phone: 888-810-4556
Fax: 866-439-7340
CStudentAccounts@careered.com
Graduates will have access to Optimal Resume. Optimal Resume is an online resource to create and build a resume, research companies, and receive job leads suited to specific career goals. This resource provides tools to help you create, present, manage and share your professional credentials. To access this site, please login to the student portal.
Career Services support is also provided by calling (866) 934-1594 or via e-mail at cssupport@careered.com.
Federal Loan Discharge and Forgiveness
IMPORTANT NOTE: Visit https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school to evaluate the eligibility requirements for discharge of Federal Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) Program loans, or Federal Perkins Loans. This information does not apply to non-federal student loans. For those loans, please contact lenders directly for options and to understand repayment obligations.
Students who attended a school who believe they were defrauded or that their school otherwise violated applicable state law may be eligible for discharge (loan forgiveness). Please visit https://studentaid.gov/borrower-defense for assistance.
Resolving Loan Disputes: https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman/disputes
File a complaint with the Illinois Board of Higher Education. After we have received your complaint, we will do our best to answer your questions.
If you wish, you might also file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
Please email info@ibhe.org and we will get back with you!
Illinois Board of Higher Education
www.ibhe.org
August 2018
Updated April 2021
Second update April 2024