AMHERST — Hampshire College students had classes, homework and outdoor activities on tap as they woke up to sunny, spring weather Tuesday morning. They also woke up to an email announcing that the college they attend is closing.
“This is a very interesting day,” said student Dechen Bloom of Vermont.
Bloom was one of many students who received an email addressed to the “Hampshire College Community” at 8:15 a.m., breaking the news to many community members that the college will close at the end of the fall 2026 semester.
From bearing signs that read “The End is Nigh” to climbing trees, studying and going to class, students were digesting the news while bustling around campus. Bloom, a first-year student studying art and architecture, said he wants to stay in college but is not sure where he will go.
“Part of the reason I came here is for the alternative, community aspect,” Bloom said. “I personally prefer smaller schools and that environment.”
Hampshire College, which originally opened in 1970, has grappled with its financial stability for years. The private institution has faced concerns over its accreditation and declining enrollment, dropping from 842 students in fall 2024 to 747 in fall 2025.
“It’s been coming. I guess it’s not surprising,” said Levi Ebnit of Michigan, who is in his final year at the college. “It is a sad loss for education institutions that use narrative evaluations instead of grade-based learning.”
As for students who have several semesters left, Ebnit said, “My heart hurts for them because there’s no other college like Hampshire in the Five College system. I hope there’s other options for them.”
In an email announcing the closure, Hampshire College’s board of trustees noted, “Seven years ago, the Hampshire community presented the college with a powerful mandate: to maintain independence and remain true to Hampshire’s deepest-held values.”
It continues, “Despite this Herculean effort, the financial pressures on the college’s operations have become increasingly complex, compounded by shifting external factors.”
The lengthy message, signed by President Jenn Chrisler, then goes on to say the college is working with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and the New England Commission of Higher Education to coordinate “teach-out plans” that would “prioritize students’ academic progress.”
It lists eight different schools — including Amherst College, Bennington College, Mount Holyoke College, the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Prescott College, Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst — that Hampshire has agreements with as “transfer partner institutions.”
These institutions are in the process of partnering with Hampshire to develop specific credit mapping procedures, aiming to create “the smoothest possible transition for our students,” the email states. It adds that Hampshire’s Center for Academic Support and Advising will assist students with selecting another institution and prepare any needed documentation to transfer.
“I don’t want to go anywhere else,” said student Akiva-Lev Tepperman of New Jersey, who studies musicology at Hampshire College. “There’s no other school that would let me do what I want to do.”
Tepperman said he doesn’t know what he is going to do yet. “It’s crazy, we just got done figuring out our housing for next year.”
“My first thought was, ‘What are students who aren’t graduating going to do?'” said graduating student Jerome Gauderman, of Minnesota.
Gauderman said the stability of the college has been a point of discussion for students recently, with some thinking the college had many years ahead of it while others have felt the end was closing in.
“After we graduate this year, they (certain students) thought that there were at least going to be like five more years,” Gauderman said. “But I don’t know. I was honestly very surprised.”
“I thought they were going to pull it off,” said student Nicholas Reardon.
“Hopefully Ken Burns comes down with the grace of God and saves it,” graduating student Zanzy Rice-Reeves said with a laugh.
Students asked questions ranging from what would happen to the college’s buildings to whether the Five College Consortium — consisting of Hampshire College, UMass, Amherst College, Smith College and Mount Holyoke College — would become the Four College Consortium. Those questions remain unanswered at this point.
While students tried to look at the closure’s bright side, Rice-Reeves said the news was hard and she is “gutted” because Hampshire College is different from the other Five Colleges and other schools globally.
Rice-Reeves said Hampshire College students feel disrespected by the other Five Colleges. She feels the other institutions could have helped contribute to Hampshire to keep it afloat.
“It’s different and special here,” Rice-Reeves said about Hampshire College.
