Virginia College and Brightwood College closing; for-profit operator cites dwindling enrollment

Education Corporation of America, owner of a national chain of for-profit schools including Virginia College and Brightwood College in Maryland, is ending operations this week in the face of dwindling enrollment and regulatory pressures.

“This is not the outcome that we envisioned and is one that we recognize will have a dramatic effect on our students, employees and many partners,” Diane Worthington, a spokeswoman for Education Corp., said in a statement Wednesday.