Springfield College changes name to Everest

“It’s the same atmosphere, the same quality education,” said Stephanie Taylor, who has taught general education language arts courses at the college for nearly six years. “Other than coming into the parking lot and seeing the new sign, honestly, it hasn’t changed.”

Since 1996, Springfield College has been a part of Corinthian Colleges, one of the largest post-secondary education companies in the North America. Corinthian currently has 133 schools in the United States and Canada.

“The parent company is still Corinthian Colleges. It’s just that due to a number of acquisitions, Corinthian schools have 28 different names,” said Peter Neigler, regional vice president of operations with Titan Schools, a part of Corinthian Colleges. “We’re in the process of branding them and bringing them down to four names across the country.”

When the process is complete, 67 of Corinthian’s schools will have the Everest name, said Neigler, who also is acting as the president of Everest College-Springfield.

Gerald Terrebrood, who was president of Springfield College for five years, recently retired, and the school has not yet chosen a successor.

“It’s simply a name change so we can have the same brand throughout the country,” said Neigler. “Accreditation is all the same, the ownership is the same.”

Recognizable name

Corinthian schools in Canada are not changing, and the schools that currently have the Florida Metropolitan University name will not change, said Neigler. All of the remaining Corinthian schools will become either Everest College, Ashmead College or Wyotech.

“From our point of view for the students it helps because the name of that college that they’re graduating from will be recognized across the country,” Neigler added.

At Everest College-Springfield, students can take courses to earn bachelor or associate degrees in a variety of programs including business administration, computer science, medical assistant and accounting. The school also offers diploma programs in areas such as medical office assistant and medical transcription.

There are currently about 500 students enrolled at the Springfield campus, and as of Dec. 31, there were 66,319 total students enrolled in Corinthian Colleges. Everest colleges account for about half of the total enrollment at Corinthian Colleges.

Jim Wintigler, an Everest College-Springfield student, said he appreciates that when he graduates with a bachelor’s degree in business that the school will be more universally recognizable than it was as Springfield College.

Wintigler earned an associate’s degree in computer science and came back to the school to continue his education.

“The best thing I’ve found about this school is the individualized attention that you get from the instructors,” said Wintigler.

The personal attention is something Steve Marshall, senior registrar for Everest College-Springfield, said he has seen grow over the years. Marshall has worked for the college for nearly 19 years and has been a part of many changes.

What’s in a name?

In fact, the latest name change for the college is just one of several for the school since its establishment in 1976 as Steed College-Springfield, Marshall said.

Steed College-Springfield was originally located at 3275 Glenstone Station, and was a branch of Tennessee-based Steed College. Many of the same programs are still offered today.

The school was acquired by Rutledge College of Spartanburg, S.C. and was renamed Rutledge-Springfield in 1979. It moved to a new facility at 309 N. Jefferson, Room 348 of the Landmark Building that same year.

Rutledge-Springfield moved to 625 N. Benton Ave. in 1985 then was acquired by Phillips College of Gulfport, Miss., in 1989. The Springfield Philips Junior College moved to the current Sunshine Street location in 1992.

The junior college was purchased in 1996 by Corinthian Colleges of Santa Anna, Calif., and was renamed Springfield College. Since taking over the college in 1996, Corinthian Colleges has added a number of bachelor and associate degree programs and has continues to offer several diploma and certificate programs.

Neigler said the college plans to add a new program for the fall, but the school is not yet ready to announce details. [[In-content Ad]]