Career Education finance chief resigns; shares fall

(Reuters) - For-profit education company Career Education Corp (CECO.O) said Michael Graham, its CFO of five years, has resigned, sending its shares down 8 percent after the bell.

The company said Graham will be replaced by Colleen O' Sullivan, previously chief accounting officer, effective immediately.

U.S. for-profit education providers have been under pressure in the last several quarters after they tightened admission policies to meet stricter regulatory requirements aimed at reducing student debt.

O' Sullivan, who has also been with Career Education for almost five years, has previously worked with Hewitt Associates, Sears Holdings and Arthur Andersen.

The company's shares, which traded at about $17 just over 10 months ago, were down at $3.44 in post-market trade. They closed at $3.74 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)