Students and faculty members at Argosy University are facing an uncertain future as the school risks closing since the U.S. Department of Education halted its financial aid.
On Tuesday, dozens of students protested outside one of the university’s locations in Chicago after failing to receive financial aid money promised to them earlier in the fall, according to an NBC Chicago report.
“It’s just been really emotionally draining,” Indra Gonzalez, an Argosy student told NBC. “It’s getting to that point where I don’t have any more money saved up. I’m going to have to scrimmage for something else to pay for that, and it’s at the end of this month.”
The California-based university system, owned by Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), received a letter from the Department last week stating that its application to participate in federal student aid programs by converting the school from a for-profit to a nonprofit institution had been rejected.
The Department of Education said that the university did not meet its standards for financial responsibility and administrative capability to continue receiving federal aid. It also alleged the school of not distributing loan money it owed to the students.
USA Today previously reported that students were informed via email on Wednesday that the university could close its campuses across the nation as soon as this Friday due to the loss of access to federal financing.
“Should the campus close, we would work with our accreditors, state regulators and the U.S. Department of Education to provide options for our students,” phoenix campus president Anthony Spano wrote in the email.
The university system currently owes $13 million in federal aid stipends to students enrolled in its various campuses across the country.