CCRT, earlier known as Scottsdale Education Center, originated in December 1971 and was located in Phoenix, Arizona.

In June 1996, the college was acquired by National Education Company (NEC)/International Correspondence Schools (ICS).

The academic offerings of the college were expanded to include degree programs in other educational fields like business, technology and medical specialties.

"[6] In May 2014 the U.S. Department of Justice joined the suit, stating that from its point-of-view the CEHE "directly or indirectly encouraged its recruiters to enroll anyone who was willing to apply for federal funds regardless of the students’ likelihood of success or ability to benefit" from the associated schools' educational programs.

[6] The Colorado Attorney General filed a similar lawsuit in December 2014, though it alleged "staff consistently misled and lied to students about the selectivity of the school, the transferability of credits, the jobs they could obtain, the salaries they could earn, and more," though CEHE denied the allegations as "full of distortions [and] half-truths.

[8] The CEHE filed suit against the Department of Education on August 30, calling its decision "arbitrary and capricious and inconsistent with the treatment of similarly situated nonprofit schools.