WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Becker College’s Board of Trustees voted Sunday to permanently close the college in Worcester at the end of the current academic year.
The college will provide academic support and transitional services to students through Aug. 31, Board of Trustees Chair Christine L. Cassidy wrote in a message to the community.
Classes will not resume in the fall and all tuition deposits will be refunded.
“Particularly as a Becker alumna myself, this was an exceptionally painful decision for the Board to come to, but one that followed many months of striving for a viable, sustainable, and responsible path to address the increasing financial pressures on our College,” Cassidy wrote. “We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that our students, faculty, and staff have access to the best opportunities.”
The college has made arrangements with 18 area universities to provide admission to Becker students. A list of those universities can be found here.
Marty Meehan, president of the UMass system, said they are ready to step in.
“It’s very stressful on students, and oftentimes their parents,” he said. “I think the most important thing is to be able to get credits for the program they’re in — be able to transfer those credits — and still be able to graduate on time.”
Some students said they’re disappointed to go back to the drawing board, but are feeling hopeful they will find their way.
“I’ve already gotten accepted to another school, so that helps me. But a lot of people haven’t started looking yet because the news just came out,” freshman Madisyn Barnaby said.
“Financially how am I going to be able to afford this? Emotionally how am I going to be able to transfer? It’s just overall kind of hard right now,” freshman Montana Pouliot said.
The college also plans to assist departing faculty and staff in finding new career opportunities.
Becker College is among numerous small, tuition-dependent colleges across the United States that have faced a mounting crisis in recent years with declining enrollments, rising costs, and the added challenge of maintaining physical campus operations while transitioning to online education due to COVID-19.
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