Regency Beauty Institute success story

Update:

When Regency Beauty School abruptly closed on September 29, students who were enrolled at one of the 79 campuses around the country went to pick up their supplies.

There are two Regency Beauty School campuses in Texas, including one in Austin. FOX 7 met one of the displaced students that day, Nature Nunez.

She told FOX 7 she had just 17 hours left, and was discouraged because she feared she wouldn’t get her degree. FOX 7 contacted the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on behalf of Nature. They in turn contacted her and helped get her placed in a new school to finish her hours.

“The anxiety of calling T.D.L.R. and then you called me and told me they were going to call me, they did, they kept on it, and I credit you a lot for that,” she says thanking FOX 7.

On Tuesday, Nature took her licensing exam. “I passed,” the mother of two said excitedly while holding up her degree, adding, “I waited this long to finally do my dream.”

Also on hand was T.D.L.R. Director, Raymond Pizarro, who tells FOX 7, “It's heartbreaking because they are getting displaced.”  He adds that almost all of the five hundred or so Regency Beauty School students have been contacted, most of them, he says, on their way to finishing their education. “We feel proud that we can help these students.”

Pizarro says that cosmetology hours accumulated transfer evenly to other schools. He also adds that even though some of the Regency Beauty School students decided not to finish their education, that if they change their mind, the opportunity for them to finish is still there too.

As the wave of vocation school closures continues to sweep across the U.S., and Texas, Nature has a message for those students too, “don't lose faith in the education system,” she says, adding, “you work hard at anything you are going to get something accomplished, even if it's not the right choice now, just keep that attitude it'll get you somewhere.”

Nature tells FOX 7 she is look for a cosmetology job and she says she's planning to continue her education so she can be an instructor too. 

Students at Regency Beauty Institute showed up for cosmetology school on Thursday to learn their education there had come to a halt. The for-profit school had 79 campuses scattered across the U.S. Including 2 in Central Texas.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says that about 512 students were enrolled in the 12 Regency Beauty Institute campuses in the state.

In a statement to FOX 7, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations says,

“The students of Regency Beauty Institute are the primary concern for Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) staff. The TDLR team is working to ensure students receive all the school hours they earned while attending the Institute and that they will be able to transfer those hours to another school. The Department will continue to work with every student in achieving their goal of a career in the cosmetology industry.”

They say are working with displaced students to help them get enrolled elsewhere to continue their education.

They are asking students to:

• Contact Regency to get a transcript so the hours are documented
• Call TDLR Customer Service number: 800-803-9202 with the following information: name, student permit number, current phone number, what help is needed.
• TDLR says students who are at the end of their education, will get the help they need to transfer their hours so they may graduate.
• According to the Regency Beauty Institute website, the list of campuses willing to take students is being updated regularly.
• TDLR says according to the Law of Cosmetology, there is a Private Beauty Culture School Tuition Protection Account where private beauty schools must contribute equally, “for situations like this.” Students who have just enrolled to the Regency Beauty Institute, may be eligible for money from this account, but TDLR says it is evaluated on a case by case basis. They are encouraging these students to contact them: 800-803-9202

FOX 7 reporter Elizabeth Saab will have a complete update on the Regency Beauty Institute’s closing at 9 & 10 on Fox 7 Austin.