VOA教育报道2024--When Colleges Close, Some Students Never Go Back

University closures in the United States in recent years have left tens of thousands of students unsure about their education. Some face increased risk of never finishing their degrees at all.

And the closures continue as schools around the country react to sharp drops in enrollment¹, or registration², of students since 2020.

Nationwide, private colleges have been closing at a rate of about two per month, says the State Higher Education Executive³ Officers Association. The organization recently released a study with the National Student Clearing House Research Center. It reported that 467 colleges, including for-profit and non-profit, have closed in the U.S. since 2020. The closings affected⁴ more than 143,000 students. Over two-thirds of the affected students received little warning and did not receive any support to continue their education elsewhere.

Recently, students at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania received news that their school would shut down within days. Many students are not sure what they will do next.

Katherine Anderson came from the American state of Texas to attend the school, also known as UArts, last year. She chose a program that she could not find anywhere else, combining the music business, entrepreneurship⁵ and technology.

The closure of UArts has left her and 1,300 other students scrambling⁶ to find somewhere to go or something to do. By the time the school announced its closure, many colleges had already completed their admissions for the fall.

Anderson was accepted into the music industry program at nearby Drexel University. She told The Associated Press that it was not a perfect match, but "the next best thing, I guess."

"Because of all that's going on, I felt very pressured to make a decision as fast as possible," Anderson said. She is now seeking legal action against the University of the Arts.

Before its closing, UArts had trained musicians, artists, dancers and designers in Philadelphia for nearly 150 years. The school had suffered a sharp drop in enrollment and said it was faced with "significant, unanticipated expenses" that forced its closure. State and local agents are investigating to find out exactly what happened.

Lynette Kuhn is a top official in the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She said, "We have yet to receive the answer to that question," in an online information event for University of the Arts parents and students.

Heather Perfetti is president of the Middle States Commission⁷ on Higher Education, an accrediting⁸ agency. She said at the same event, "We all believe that no academic journey should include this kind of severe and abrupt⁹ disruption¹⁰."

Adam Machado came to UArts from New York's Hudson Valley. He received a $32,000-a-year scholarship to study music. He is unsure if he would receive the same financial or training support from other schools.

Machado has been performing in New York and Philadelphia with a band called Kids That Fly. He added that he is sad not only for himself, "but 1,000 other artists (who) are without a home."

Cyrus Nasib, like many classmates who went through the admission process just a year ago, is not sure what he will do next. "You don't really know where to start," he said. "It kind of just saps your motivation to do anything."

The study also said as many as half of students affected by school closings did not return. The numbers include students at nonprofit and for-profit schools, including two-year colleges.

University of the Arts film major Ian Callaghan-Kenna did not like how the closure was carried out. He said the school "acted like everything was normal" and then shut down just two weeks later.

"It's just very, very upsetting," he said.

Words in This Story

significant - adj. large enough to have an effect

unanticipated - adj. not expected

expense - n. an amount of money needed to pay for something

academic - adj. relating to school

journey - n. trip

abrupt - adj. very sudden

disruption - n. inability to continue in a normal way

sap - v. to cause someone to lose energy, strength

motivation - n. a force or influence that causes someone to do something

1 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

2 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 entrepreneurship   

企业家身份

参考例句：

• Spawr indeed personified American ingenuity, self-reliance, initiative and entrepreneurship. 斯帕尔看不上机构重叠和清规戒律，表现出美国人的机敏，有着独立、首创精神和企业家的风度。
• He provides evidence that n-achievement is highly correlated with entrepreneurship. 他提供的材料表明“n--成就”与企业家精神高度相关。

6 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

8 accrediting   

v.相信( accredit的现在分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• One accrediting agency is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 有一个资信鉴定机构是为了高等教育的。 来自互联网
• One accrediting agency is Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 高等教育授权委员会就是这样一个授权机构。 来自互联网

9 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

10 disruption   

n.分裂

参考例句：

• The state was in disruption. 国家处于分崩离析之中。
• Such storms cause considerable disruption in magnetic prospecting operation. 这种磁暴对磁法勘探产生严重的破坏。