To its critics, including many former students who feel misled by the company, the sudden closure of IronCircle may seem a fitting culmination to its eight years of operation. The company, which had gone through two name changes in that time, regularly charged students as much as $18,900 for classes and then failed to help them get cybersecurity jobs, according to a Hechinger Report investigation that included interviews with more than 35 former students and employees, as well as a review of university records. Students were sold on the hopes of finding a lucrative job — reviewing security alerts, responding to breaches, testing company systems — at a time of economic uncertainty and rapidly rising costs. In the end, though, they reported the company often gave improbable, deceptive or false information about job prospects and oversold its own support services. Still, more than 20 universities, including prestigious public institutions, partnered with IronCircle, offering a de facto seal of approval.