SAN ANTONIO – One day after abruptly shutting its doors at all five Texas campuses and leaving hundreds of students and teachers in a bind, Vantage College said it will update those affected in San Antonio next week.
The private, for-profit school that trains students for careers in health care, business management or information technology careers closed down about noon Thursday.
"It's frustrating," said Rhianna Rodgers, a student who said she is just three months shy of graduation. "I wanted to show my kids that I can do something, and it's never too late to go to school and achieve something."
Rodgers is now left to figure out how and where she can finish her program and how her $10,000 loan may be affected.
Georgina Silva, an instructor at Vantage College, is already looking for a new position at another school, hoping her students can follow.
"I won't stop until I see them graduate," she said.
Silva said she was stunned by the sudden closure and has questions.
"The company is great. The staff is great. The instructors are great, but what went wrong?" she said.
A notice posted on the front door of both San Antonio locations, as well as on the college's website, explains that the school is under review by the U.S. Department of Education, a review that delays federal funding. The notice says the school could not make arrangements to cover for the delay and remain open.
A spokesman for Vantage College said in an email to KSAT 12 News that the closure was voluntary and no illegal activity took place. This the third private career school to close in recent months, prompting Rodgers to ask questions.
"Why is there not more regulation into monitoring to make sure they have the funding to be able to maintain a school? To me, that is huge," she said.
In its notice, Vantage College said it will begin mailing transcripts to students next week and is looking at options for students to complete their programs at other schools.
Rodgers hopes to transfer her credits to another school and finish what she started.
"I guess everything is up in the air," she said.
The Texas Workforce Commission, which licenses career colleges, issued a statement Thursday afternoon, saying that the school informed them Thursday about the decision to close. The estimated 600 students have several options including seeking loan forgiveness or transferring credits to other accredited programs.
Students may reach out to the Texas Workforce Commission at 866-256-6333 (use prompt #1) or at 512-936-3100, or they can email the commission at career.schools@twc.state.tx.us.
Links regarding school closures will also be available soon by clicking here.
Students can also check for information, when it becomes available, on the Coordinating Board’s school closure web location or the main website. They can also call the school closure dedicated phone line at 512-427-6562.