ITT, a for-profit college comprising 40,000 students and roughly 8,000 employees, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September 2016. At the time of filing, the Carmel, Indiana-based business had 137 locations in 38 states – each contained student and business records. GRM won the contract after a competitive bid process conducted by the government-appointed trustee, Deborah Caruso of the Indianapolis firm Rubin & Levin P.C.
Since winning the bid, more than 77,000 boxes filled with student and business records have been moved to GRM’s secure, state-of-the-art storage facility in Indianapolis. The records include student transcripts and loan information, as well as employee records, and files pertaining to pension benefits and 401(k) retirement funds.
Because of the urgency involved in a bankruptcy case of this scale, the records had to be secured, processed and stored quickly. GRM employees worked around the clock
to ensure the timely processing of each box.
And, due to the confidential nature of these documents, it was critically important that all of GRM’s processes were in compliance with the guidelines and procedures required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1947 (FERPA). GRM adheres to FERPA requirements while also respecting and preserving the chain of custody as this is ongoing bankruptcy litigation.
GRM works with a multitude of large legal and business clients across the country and is known for its ability to accommodate clients’ specific needs. As such, they had no trouble fulfilling this project’s unique requirements.
“At GRM, we are committed to providing the highest level of customer service and support to every client,” says Avner Schneur, President and CEO of GRM. “This project, while unique in scale and timing, is an opportunity for us to demonstrate this commitment.”
The breadth of GRM’s experience managing highly regulated and confidential information positioned GRM to consult effectively with the trustee regarding the most efficient and compliant way to manage the records.
“In our working partnership with the trustee, we have been able to utilize our records management experience to assist in the most practical manner of handling student and
discovery requests,” says GRM Digital Sales Executive Bob Hudson. “We’ve done this while also being mindful of the estate’s fiduciary responsibilities.”
Adding to the scope of the project, for the past 15 months, GRM has handled transcript requests from former ITT students. While these requests have involved paper transcripts, moving forward GRM will digitize these records for 19 of the states where ITT had campuses, and send them to the respective state departments of education.
