Hickey College, a small St. Louis career education college with a culinary institute and veterinary technology institute, will shut down soon due to low enrollment, officials announced this week.
The college, which has about 300 students and 50 employees, will no longer accept new student applications. Because of this, most of the college’s admissions staff are being laid off, said Christopher Gearin, Hickey College president.
The school will remain open long enough for its current students to finish their education, which is about 18 months, Gearin said. Then the school will close.
Bradford Schools, Hickey’s parent for-profit company, decided to close Hickey because of its low enrollment, Gearin said. The school’s enrollment has decreased about 10 percent in about the past decade, he added.
“No one here wanted this to happen,” Gearin said. “It’s a sad day moving forward.”
Hickey College was founded in 1933 by Dr. Margaret Hickey and was once a business school. It’s located at 2700 North Lindbergh Boulevard.