University of the Arts in Philadelphia / Photo credit: Min Chen
University of the Arts in Philadelphia has abruptly announced that they will close their doors this past June 7th, 2024. A bold statement on the university’s website reads, “We’re closed.” The announcement was made on May 31st, 2024 after canceling scheduled summer classes. The president of the University of the Arts, Kerry Walk, resigned after serving in her position for less than a year following the announcement of the school’s closure.
According to the university, the closure is due to their “fragile financial state” and “many years of declining enrollments.” The university claims that it had 2,038 enrolled students. The tuition was estimated to be $54,010 for the 2023-2024 school year, although the university claims to give out more than $60 million in scholarships and grants to its students. The New York Times reported that at the time of closing, the school had 1,149 students and 700 faculty and staff members.
The closing of the longstanding university was allegedly due to a mix of cash flow constraints, as they claimed they faced unanticipated costs. According to a statement from the board of trustees, although they tried what they could, “we could not ultimately identify a viable path for the institution to remain open and in the service of its mission.” It is unclear what the unanticipated expenses were, but the board claims that the tuition fees were unable to cover the costs adequately. The school cited that it would have taken $40 million to save it.
After a protest in front of UArt / Photo credit: Min Chen
After firing around 600 faculty members, Pennsylvania’s attorney general has decided that a review is warranted. They were notified that they were laid off effective immediately during a conference call and few others were allowed to work until the end of June. Some faculty and students have filed a class action lawsuit, alleging a breach of contract, breach of implied contract, and unjust enrichment by the university and their administration.
Temple University and Drexel University both issued statements that offered options to current UArts students to be able to seamlessly transfer to their respective schools. Drexel’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Art & Design has offered a 50% tuition discount program for the UArts undergrads. Temple added a form on their admissions website for interested transfer students and the schools are allegedly in the midst of a discussion regarding a potential merger.
Students protest the closure of UArts / Photo credit: Monica Herndon
This news comes just months after the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announced it would stop granting degrees after the class of 2025 graduates. Their attempts to save the school have been unsuccessful and the decision to no longer grant degrees has been approved by their board of directors.
The currently turbulent landscape of higher education raises an eyebrow, as college degrees become mandatory for the job market. The closure of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia marks a significant loss in the academic community and closely reflects the challenging financial situations faced by many institutions. The swift responses by neighboring universities, offering transfers and support, provide a small glimmer of hope for those affected.
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