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Iowa college closing its doors; blames debt, poor economy

OSKALOOSA, IA (KTTC-TV) -- An Iowa college is closing its doors after this semester - a victim of a poor economy and rising debt. 

Vennard College near Oskaloosa is a small, Christian college with about 70 students and 24 full-time staff members.

Officials say the school has a $300,000 deficit for the semester. Officials say low enrollment is to blame.

Just to break even, the school President says they'd have to double the student population.

Bruce Moyer, University President, says, "It's tough for everybody. We hoped we could try to find a way to make it through May and there was just no way we were going to continue to go further in debt and the right decision to make was to end it at a time when we could do it with some integrity."

Moyer says students who were to graduate in the spring will now graduate at the end of the semester.

The school is holding a college fair next week where colleges are coming to recruit the underclassman.