FORT SMITH -- Vista College, a chain of trade schools with a campus in Fort Smith, closed its doors abruptly Oct. 8, according to Arkansas Division of Higher Education officials.
Alana Boles, the division's program director for private career and out-of-state education, said she was surprised by the news. The college notified her Oct. 11
"They didn't really give me an explanation," Boles said.
The Fort Smith campus at 1200 S. Waldron Road had 354 students enrolled at the time of its closing, with another 69 Arkansas students enrolled in the college's online programs, according to Maria Markham, division director.
Boles said the division has the students' transcripts and is sending them to the students so they can continue their educations at other institutions.
Education Futures Group LLC, which owns Vista College, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Oct. 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware. Education Futures Group is based in Richardson, Texas.
Vista College is a for-profit organization with its main campus in El Paso, Texas. It also has campuses in the Texas cities of Beaumont, College Station, Killeen and Longview, and in Las Cruces, N.M. Each of those campuses also closed within the past week, according to multiple media reports.
Vista offered programs in health care; business; information technology; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; and industrial maintenance.
A call to the Fort Smith location produced a recorded message that said, "This call may be recorded for quality purposes," then the call was disconnected.
The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved Vista College to open its Fort Smith campus Jan. 31, 2014, and certified the college's first programs a few months later. Vista was accredited through the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, Markham said.
The school opened its Fort Smith campus in January 2016.
Total tuition for Vista's programs -- some of which awarded associate degrees -- ranged from $18,600 to $39,692, according to the catalog.
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is working to assist students displaced by Vista's closure.
Displaced students may have some recourse financially if they have specific federal benefits or loans, the release stated, citing financial aid service websites Benefits.VA.gov and StudentAid.gov.