When Colleges Close, Some Students Never Go Back

01University closures in the United States in recent years have left tens of thousands of students unsure about their education.

02Some face increased risk of never finishing their degrees at all.

03And the closures continue as schools around the country react to sharp drops in enrollment, or registration, of students since 2020.

04Nationwide, private colleges have been closing at a rate of about two per month, says the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.

05The organization recently released a study with the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

06It reported that 467 colleges, including for-profit and non-profit, have closed in the U.S.

07since 2020.

08The closings affected more than 143,000 students.

09Over two-thirds of the affected students received little warning and did not receive any support to continue their education elsewhere.

10Recently, students at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received news that their school would shut down within days.

11Many students are not sure what they will do next.

12Catherine Anderson came from the American state of Texas to attend the school, also known as UArts, last year.

13She chose a program that she could not find anywhere else, combining the music business, entrepreneurship, and technology.

14The closure of UArts has left her and 1,300 other students scrambling to find somewhere to go or something to do.

15By the time the school announced its closure, many colleges had already completed their admissions for the fall.

16Anderson was accepted into the music industry program at nearby Drexel University.

17She told the Associated Press that it was not a perfect match, but the next best thing, I guess.

18Because of all that's going on, I felt very pressured to make a decision as fast as possible, Anderson said.

19She is now seeking legal action against the University of the Arts.

20Before its closing, UArts had trained musicians, artists, dancers, and designers in Philadelphia for nearly 150 years.

21The school had suffered a sharp drop in enrollment and said it was faced with significant, unanticipated expenses that forced its closure.

22State and local agents are investigating to find out exactly what happened.

23Lynette Kuhn is a top official in the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

24She said, We have yet to receive the answer to that question.

25In an online information event for University of the Arts parents and students.

26Heather Perfetti is president of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an accrediting agency.

27She said at the same event, We all believe that no academic journey should include this kind of severe and abrupt disruption.

28Adam Machado came to UArts from New York's Hudson Valley.

29He received a $32,000 a year scholarship to study music.

30He is unsure if he would receive the same financial or training support from other schools.

31Machado has been performing in New York and Philadelphia with a band called Kids That Fly.

32He added that he is sad not only for himself, but 1,000 other artists who are without a home.

33Cyrus Nassib, like many classmates who went through the admission process just a year ago, is not sure what he will do next.

34You don't really know where to start, he said.

35It kind of just saps your motivation to do anything.

36The study also said as many as half of students affected by school closings did not return.

37The numbers include students at non-profit and for-profit schools, including two-year colleges.

38University of the Arts film major Ian Callahan Kenna did not like how the closure was carried out.

39He said the school acted like everything was normal and then shut down just two weeks later.

40It's just very, very upsetting, he said.

41I'm Katie Weaver.

42I'm Katie Weaver.

43I'm Katie Weaver.

44I'm Katie Weaver.

45I'm Katie Weaver.