The Santa Fe University of Art and Design will be closing in the spring of 2018.
School administrators cited ongoing financial challenges and the need to offer their roughly 650 students more clarity about the school’s future. Still, administrators say they are considering other options, such as public-private partnerships that can keep the school open.
The school is owned by Laureate International Universities. The city of Santa Fe leases the campus to the university for $2.2 million a year. Laureate had hoped to sell its assets to Raffles Education Corp. of Singapore, but the deal fell through.
The school has transfer arrangements with several accredited institutions. Administrators say the goal is to see eligible students transfer with as little financial or academic disruption as possible. Freshman and Sophomores will not have a school to come back to next Fall. Juniors and Seniors will have a skeleton faculty and facilities to finish their degrees. Marketing and outreach departments at SFUAD have already closed up shop.