After more than 50 years in business, Regency Beauty Institute has shut down for good, the company confirmed on its website.
All 79 locations nationwide closed Sept. 28 without warning. The school had campuses in the Grand Rapids area, Detroit, Flint and Lansing.
"This is incredibly difficult news for everyone affected: especially our students, teachers, and staff. We recognize that some of you may be finding this out for the first time by reading this. We are truly sorry for the abrupt nature of this information," the school said in a statement on its website.
"This is my passion, so I felt there was no notice at all", says Rae Lynn Crosby, who was three months shy of graduation. Another student, Precious Bradford said, "I just feel like we had no warning. No notice. How could a school shut down without any notice?"
Regency said it is in the process of mailing students their transcripts and is working on a process to help students transfer to other nearby beauty schools.
Students will only be allowed to go in and collect their personal items on Thursday, Sept. 29, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 30 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
After that, Regency said, it would no longer have access to its buildings.
Students of the school can click here for more information.
Read the full statement from Regency below:
"This is incredibly difficult news for everyone affected: especially our students, teachers, and staff. We recognize that some of you may be finding this out for the first time by reading this. We are truly sorry for the abrupt nature of this information.
How did this happen? In short, the organization does not have the cash to continue to run the business. There are multiple intertwined reasons: declining numbers of cosmetology students nationwide, a negative characterization of for-profit education by regulators and politicians that continues to worsen and, in light of these factors, an inability to obtain continued financing.
This is not another case of a school being forced to shut down because it was accused of wrongdoing. We held ourselves to high educational and ethical standards. The environment is simply not one that allows us to remain open. We diligently explored a range of strategic options that would benefit our students, teachers, and staff — and allow us to remain open. Unfortunately, those efforts were not successful."