LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new state law allows students at Nebraska’s for-profit colleges to be protected financially if those schools suddenly close.

Under the law signed Tuesday, student records from for-profit schools that close will be sent to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Students can also recover lost tuition and fees if a school closes midterm.

Those colleges must also reimburse the state if government-subsidized students are unable to finish an academic term because of a closure.

The measure is in response to last year’s ITT Technical Institute shutdown, which affected about 43,000 students nationwide and 340 at its Omaha campus. The lack of a plan left students scrambling to obtain transcripts.

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