WORCESTER, Mass. - Allen Kaye has two children who attend Becker College, a freshman and a junior.

News of the school's closing isn't a surprise for the New Jersey dad.

Kaye said, "It really stinks now. We knew it stunk March 5 and now it's reality setting in. Now, going through the process of finding a new school."

Becker's Board of Trustees voted to permanently close the school Sunday night, citing decreased enrollment and financial challenges. 

Kaye says his biggest issue was the school's lack of transparency.

"I guess it made me realize in the future, when you're looking for schools for people that, you have to look into the school financials while they're looking at yours to give you financial aid," Kaye said.

The Board of Trustees also pointed to COVID-19 as a deciding factor in their decision, saying in a statement: "...There was an unanticipated and significant drop in the number of students who, due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, chose not to live on campus, never registered, took a leave of absence, or dropped out."

Alumna Emily Romsky says she's heart broken. Romsky said, "I'm at work today. So having to hear the news while I'm here has just been really difficult and hard to handle."

Romsky says the small-town feel of Becker College is what she loved, and seeing it disappear is going to be tough.

"It's very hard to imagine later on in life when I have kids, not being able to bring them to the campus I fell in love with and the place that I called home," said Romsky, who graduated from Becker in 2019.

Graduation will go on as planned this spring before operations come to an end for Becker.

For Kaye, it's now time to find schools for his sons.

Kaye said, "I come home and I spend the day now working on this. It has been a lot. It has been stressful for me, trying to keep the pressure off of them."

In a statement Monday, Board of Trustees Chair Christine Cassidy says Becker will be providing transitional services for students, and that will continue until August 31st, 2021