Anna Maria College Shocks Students With Closure Announcement — What Happened?

The college admissions process can be grueling for high school students and parents. Students have to juggle extracurriculars and courses, score well on entrance exams, write admission essays, and apply for financial aid.

For students who were just accepted to Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts, the college preparation process didn't end when they got their acceptance letters. On April 23, 2026, the college shocked students when it announced that it would be permanently closing at the end of the Spring semester, per CBS News.

The private Catholic college filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the state of Massachusetts on April 23, the same day that the college's president, Sean J. Ryan, announced the permanent closure. The statement from the president and the Board of Trustees says that the leadership team at Anna Maria College "walked a distressing road together" for months, "examining every option and hoping at each turn that something might change."

The college said that the reason for the closure was "years of financial pressure that we were ultimately unable to overcome." They said that continuing to open their doors would not be responsible for the students, faculty, and staff.

The school's website states that the school is tuition-dependent, and enrollment declined in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, "eroding the revenue base the College depends on to operate."

The statement says that the school cannot promise "sufficient financial resources to meet regulatory-imposed continuous operation thresholds." 1,083 students and 263 employees will be affected by the closure.

Anna Maria College students who were set to graduate in Spring 2026 will still get to walk the stage at a commencement ceremony at the end of the school year. As for current and incoming students, Anna Maria College has established "transfer pathway agreements" with other colleges in the area.

These agreements guarantee admission, comparable financial aid, and evaluation of transfer credits to students from Anna Maria College, according to Mass Live.

CBS News reports that both incoming and current students at Anna Maria were blindsided by the news of the school's closure. One incoming student, Matthew Scotland, received a $23,000 scholarship to attend the school just days before the school announced its closure.

He told CBS News that there were "never any warning signs" that the school wasn't a viable option.

Some staff will stay on at Anna Maria to "help students through degree completion," according to CBS News. Staff layoffs will take place between June 22 and 30, and at least 150 employees will lose their jobs. Unfortunately, there are no agreements set up to transfer employees in the same way that the school will transfer students to other schools in the area.

The school's HR and the MassHire department of Career Services will help laid-off staff find new positions. Laid-off staff will also be eligible for unemployment.