Dozens of ACI students rally at Springfield City Hall

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Dozens of students from the closed American Career Institute in Springfield gathered on the steps of Springfield City Hall Monday morning all wondering the same thing: what happens next?

The career training school on Cadwell Drive abruptly closed on Wednesday . ACI released a statement that day saying that they were unable to access additional credit, making it not feasible to continue operating the school.

Students at City Hall told 22News that they are worried about the future of their education, and they have hired a lawyer.

"I'm out $25,000. That's what my financial aid covered, and now I want some answers," said ACI student Luis Quinones of Springfield.

“No one is going to hire us or want us to do internships with them, because now the school doesn’t exist anymore. It’s not fair to all of us that we’re all stuck with a bill now, and it’s not right,” student Marisol Rodriguez of Holyoke said.

Attorney General Martha Coakley, meanwhile, has launched an investigation into the closure. The State Office of Consumer Affairs has also issued a list of tips for students who have paid for coursework they were unable to complete.

State regulators are also trying to work with other career training schools to negotiate an agreement to let ACI students complete their programs elsewhere.

According to a statement sent to 22News by Brooke Baran of the Premier Education Group (which owns Branford Hall Career Institute, the Salter Schools, and Salter College), they are working to help ACI students, but it is a complicated process.

“We are ready and willing to help these students in any way possible. However, career schools are highly regulated by the state, national accreditors, and the United States Department of Education, which makes this a very complicated and complex situation. It is essential that the students’ rights are protected in these circumstances,” Baran wrote.

“The Massachusetts Office of Occupational School Education is expected to provide guidance on or before January 25, 2013 to give the affected students a clear and defined path to continuing their education,” the statement continued.