Jacksonville's Sanford-Brown College to shut down

A Jacksonville college that trains students for careers in the medical field will shut down this fall.

Sanford-Brown College officials told students that the college is closing its doors because of “several years of declining enrollment and financial losses.”

Students are now worrying about whether they’ll graduate on time after spending tens of thousands of dollars on their educations.

“I’m probably (out) like $42,000 when it comes down to it,” said veterinary technician student Rebecca Gamble.

“I put a lot of money in it. And right now, I’m paying out of pocket for my schooling. And I mean, I want it. I want it bad. I’ve wanted to be this since I was a little girl.”

She forwarded Action News Jax an email that the school sent its students last month, saying that it’s shutting down but doing what it calls a “teach-out.”

Trending on ActionNewsJax.com:

• 2 dead after quadruple shooting in Waycross, Ga.
• Ocala woman shoots naked, poop-smeared intruder, deputies say
• 3 accused of brutal attack on NASCAR veteran Mike Wallace, daughter
• O.J. Simpson has agreed to take a paternity test for Khloe Kardashian
• St. Augustine man wins $1M on scratch-off from Murabella Publix

That means the school is staying open until October to allow students to finish their degrees.

Gamble said students are worried because they will get no second chances.

If they don’t pass a class or need to take a leave of absence for an emergency, they won’t graduate.

One student told Action News Jax that after getting two zeroes in a class, she won’t be able to graduate -- after putting $44,000 into her education.

The college president told Action News Jax that he would respond Monday to students’ concerns, but we haven’t heard back.

No one at the college’s central office in Illinois picked up the phone.

Sanford-Brown College has 16 campuses across the country. Four of them are in Florida.

“I mean, at that point, you really have no choice. Unfortunately for us, veterinary medicine is not something you can go everywhere with. So therefore, this is the only opportunity. Sanford-Brown is the only place you have besides Gainesville,” said Gamble.

Cox Media Group