Here is the letter from the Board of Trustees leaders that they sent out to the Hampshire community.
To the Hampshire College Community:
Seven years ago, the Hampshire community presented the College with a powerful mandate: to maintain independence and remain true to Hampshire’s deepest-held values. Since then, we have all worked together toward those goals, facing daunting challenges with the ingenuity and resolve that define the best of what happens here. We left no stone unturned, no solution unexplored, and made many sacrifices along the way.
Despite this herculean effort, the financial pressures on the College’s operations have become increasingly complex, compounded by shifting external factors. As President Chrisler has shared regularly with our community and our regulatory agencies, we worked aggressively to increase enrollment, refinance existing debt, and realize new revenue via the sale of a portion of our land. We have long known that addressing these issues is essential to establishing a stable financial foundation, supporting long-term operations, and meeting regulatory requirements. We are faced with the clear, heartbreaking reality that progress on each of these three key factors has fallen far short of what we had hoped.
As a result, the Board of Trustees voted to permanently close Hampshire College following the Fall 2026 semester. The rationale behind this painful vote reflects several realities. The College no longer has the resources to sustain full operations and meet our regulatory responsibilities. The inability to substantially grow enrollment would mean extraordinary cuts to our operating budgets to educate the student body we can reasonably anticipate. Additionally, the degree of short-term debt tied to our land assets means that even a favorable sale would not change our long-term financial trajectory given current enrollment.
The timing of this decision assures that we can leverage the institution’s limited financial resources to facilitate a transition that allows our current students to complete their undergraduate education (either here or at a partner institution), is respectful of our faculty and staff, maintains the value of a Hampshire College degree, and honors the lasting legacy of Hampshire and its alumni.
We write today to share this information and what it means to you as early as possible. We have assessed and planned for much of what needs to happen going forward, but many details need to be resolved, and we will offer more information in the coming days.
To our current students:
Every day we’ve spent as leaders at Hampshire has shown us the importance of what you do here. We know this is an incredible disruption to the trajectory you had planned for your college experience, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to support you in completing your studies.
The College is working with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) on teach-out plans that would prioritize students’ academic progress. That planning, subject to approval, includes two pathways: Division III Completion and Transfer.
The Completion Pathway allows Division III students to complete their degrees at Hampshire College. We are using summer field study to prepare students to complete their independent Div III project during the Fall 2026 semester. Students completing their degree with us will have campus housing and supports available for the fall semester.
The Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA) will review the standing of advanced Division II students to identify those who may be eligible for an accelerated path to degree completion at Hampshire by December 2026.
For students in the Transfer Pathway, Hampshire has agreements in place with a number of transfer partner institutions:
● Amherst College
● Bennington College
● Mount Holyoke College
● Massachusetts College of Art & Design
● The Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts (MCLA)
● Prescott College
● Smith College
● The University of Massachusetts, Amherst
These institutions are in the process of partnering with Hampshire to develop specific credit mapping procedures aimed at enabling the smoothest possible transition for our students.
Hampshire’s Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA) will assist you with selecting an institution and preparing needed documentation to transfer.
The College will host a transfer resource fair on campus prior to the completion of the Spring 2026 semester. Students should check their Hampshire email regularly for more information. Throughout the teach-out, staff in CASA and financial aid will support students in their process. Teach-out resources and further information will be updated here: www.hampshire.edu/closure-information.
We will hold Commencement on May 16, 2026 for eligible graduates, and a Commencement ceremony next winter for those who complete in December.
Our counseling team is available to provide support and resources to students in managing this transition.
To Admitted Students:
One of our reasons for announcing this news now is to ensure that you can fully consider your other options. All deposits will be refunded. In addition, our admissions team would be happy to provide information for admitted students who put down a deposit to support exploring other options. Please email admissions@hampshire.edu.
To Faculty and Staff:
Faculty and staff are the heart of our institution. We cannot offer enough appreciation for your efforts to maintain our students’ academic and student life experience during a challenging time.
A limited number of staff and faculty will be essential to properly support students completing their degrees at Hampshire College. A number of roles and positions will be ending as we focus limited financial resources on the essential work of helping students complete their degrees.
We are moving quickly to determine which roles will be impacted to best allow our employees time to prepare.
We will be communicating separately with more details on the transition process, regulatory requirements, and next steps.
To Alums:
As part of the closure process, we have a process for maintaining access to records/transcripts and other information relevant to alumni. We will also continue to reinforce in every possible venue that the quality of Hampshire’s academic programs was never in question.
Non Satis Scire**: Closing thoughts**
Hampshire’s board made its decision only after exploring every possible alternative. Nearly every trustee is an alum, and we share in the community’s heartbreak. Yet we know that you will come together, as you always do, to support each other and take much-deserved pride in what makes this college unlike any other.
Since its founding in 1965, Hampshire College has been home to a group of deeply curious, creative people who have radically reimagined the liberal arts, using a singular, distinctive model designed to change and respond to the most pressing issues facing society. We remain unwavering in our belief that the experience a Hampshire College education provides is exactly what the world needs. For more than five decades, our remarkable students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends have brought the College’s motto, “To Know Is Not Enough,” to life. We are committed to preserving this profound legacy and to ensuring that the story of Hampshire’s unique and audacious vision will continue to serve as an inspiration to bold, iconoclastic thinkers well into the future.
Sincerely,
Jenn Chrisler, president
Jose Fuentes 05F, chair of the board
Elle Chan 87F, chair-elect
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