Students, Faculty Protest Sudden Closing Of Small College

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Students took to the streets in Kendall Monday, protesting the sudden closure of Mattia College that granted medical technology and nursing degrees for the last 22 years.

The private school shut down without warning over the weekend.

"The school has closed, leaving us to the mercy of God," said a stricken student, Edys Rosabel.

On its website, Mattia promises to help students find a future and has lots of photos of smiling future medical workers learning their craft.  But no more.

To worsen matters, other schools are refusing to accept many credits granted by Mattia.

"They're saying that I'm not going to be graduating until august of 2017.  That means that I'm losing at least two semesters that I have to repeat," said Mimi Diaz, a nursing student who thought she would receive her degree this summer.

Students crowded into the school today, hoping to get their transcripts.  Not everyone succeeded.

"As soon as I got to the school, I was informed that the transcripts I had paid for were not available," said student Daymi Hernandez.

Mattia founder and owner Antony Mattia did not return repeated messages from CBS4 News.  Calls to the school, which had some 700 students, went to a business as usual voice mail.  But it was far from business as usual on campus.

"This is private property, you've got to get out," said a man to a CBS4 News crew.  The man refused to identify himself.

The school left a message hanging on its front door acknowledging that it "has been under restrictive cash management by the U.S. Department of Education" since the summer of 2015, adding that "due to financial constraints we are unable to continue to operate."

Some faculty and staff members told CBS4 News they had not been paid in two months.

The feds were tightening funding to the school last year.  The state yanked its accreditation.  Students will be eligible for loan forgiveness, but only for current courses that were cut short.

"Everything is going into the trash, because of what these people have done to us," said nursing student Matilda Pozo.

The Department of Education posted information on its website, which began with the following message:

"The U.S. Department of Education determined that Mattia College ceased instruction on Feb. 22, 2016, at their Miami-based campus and received notice from Mattia's accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, that as of Feb. 24, 2016, the institution's accreditation was suspended."

The Florida legislature this year and in years past has considered a measure that would create an insurance pool to compensate students whose schools go under.  The measure has not succeeded.