> Why didn't ITT seek accreditation so that credits were transferable?

Accreditation and transferability are different issues; ITT was accredited (were it not, it could not have participated in federal aid programs.)

> It seems like it would instantly increase the value of what they are selling.

Like Corinthian, what they were selling was largely fantasies, specifically targeted to demographics who were unlikely to recognize that they were fantasies. Were ITT intending to sell a legitimate education, sure, transferability would increase the value, but they were never going to sell legitimate education at the mass-market volume and premium prices they were trying to sell at.

The additional cost of meeting the accreditation requirements, and the accreditation fees and dues, would exceed the portion that could be monetized out of the additional value imbued to the product by virtue of earning the accreditation.

That's a bold claim to make the day they shut down. :)

Naturally, I am assuming that a for-profit business made a rational cost-benefit analysis.

But it also could have been that they would rather have had countable cash in hand than nebulous goodwill some time in the future. Business managers don't always make rational decisions based on what is best for the business.