Students Stunned by Sudden Closing of a For-Profit College

Students who arrived at Alpine College, a for-profit college in Washington State, were stunned Monday to find the institution shut down, The Spokesman-Review reported. Many of the students had just started courses, and paid tuition. The owner and the vice president did not respond to requests for comment, but a statement from the college cited financial problems and the poor health of one of the owners. One owner was barred in 2007 from working as a certified public accountant for two years. And a former executive director is facing charges of theft of college funds to make $45,000 in personal purchases, the newspaper said.