Updated April 23, 2026, 3:29 p.m. ET
PAXTON – Anna Maria College will shut down at the end of the current semester, with its post-COVID enrollment and financial struggles making a rebound unrealistic.
Authorities announced the imminent end of the school on Thursday, April 23. The decision was made by the Board of Trustees.
Graduation is May 9, soon after which the school will close, according to the announcement.
“After an exhaustive review of the college’s current financial situation and the industry-wide trends in higher education, the Board of Trustees determined that the College can no longer project sufficient financial resources to sustain its academic operations and meet the needs of enrolled and admitted students for a period that is consistent with the College’s regulatory obligations,” the school wrote in an announcement.
Earlier this month, the state Department of Higher Education issued a skeptical report on the college. In a formal notice to Anna Maria, the state said it questioned whether the school had the resources to continue.
The college dates to the late 1940s, started by the Sisters of Saint Anne in Marlborough before moving to a 290-acre farm in Paxton in the early 1950s.
It was exactly 80 years ago, on April 23, 1946, that the state Board of Collegiate Authority gave the OK for Saint Anne to start a college.
The closing of the private Catholic school, originally a women’s college, comes at an uncertain time for colleges, especially smaller schools. Becker College in Worcester closed in 2021, and Hampshire College, a small private college in Amherst, announced two weeks ago it would close at the end of the year.
In April 2025, the New England Commission of Higher Education, an accreditation source, shared its concern about the future of Anna Maria. At the time, enrollment was at 1,173, down almost 20% from 1,458 in 2019, according to school figures.
The college has made cuts in staff and programming in recent years. A new president, Sean Ryan, took over in July.
In its latest report on Anna Maria, issued April 10, the state wrote, “The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education cannot confirm that the Anna Maria College has sufficient resources to be able to sustain operations at current levels and substantially fulfill its obligations to enrolled and admitted students for both the current and the subsequent academic year.”
The school’s financial problems have been a much-discussed matter in Paxton. In recent months, some town officials raised concerns that the school was behind more than $400,000 in money it owed for various police services. The overdue balance was eventually paid, according to a school spokesman.
College officials had hoped a recent $5 million donation from an anonymous supporter would help with the finances. It was the largest donation in school history.
The school said enrollment had started to turn around since drops during the pandemic. Fundraising and enrollment, notably an upward trend in deposits for the fall semester, gave officials some hope. But the finances were too much to overcome, with “no viable path forward for the College,” the school wrote.
The closing process takes into consideration current students at various levels.
The school said: “Graduating seniors will complete their degrees and participate in Commencement, which will proceed as scheduled on May 9, 2026. For students who will not complete their degrees this semester, Anna Maria has established transfer pathway agreements with partner institutions and additional partners are actively being added. Transfer fairs will be scheduled on campus and virtually so that students can meet with institutional representatives directly.”
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