CLINTON, Iowa – Ashford University announced Friday it will close its campus next spring because of the adverse financial impact of declining enrollment in this eastern Iowa community.

The university said it would continue to offer online classes and degrees, and that campus students represent a small percent of the school’s enrollment.

“Ashford’s campus has been unable to resolve its significant and ongoing enrollment shortfall, a trend that is especially troubling in today’s highly competitive environment,” Gregory Geoffroy, chairman of the school’s board of trustees, said in a statement.

In a $7.5 million settlement with the state of Iowa a year ago over accusations that the school violated the state’s consumer fraud act in recruiting tactics, Ashford said it had 800 campus students and more than 62,800 online students.

About 150 university employees are affected by the closing.  

The announcement surprised Mayor Mark Vulich and other local officials. They said the school provided no warning about the campus closing.

“The city has gotten no information from them at all,” said Vulich. “Something happened but I don’t know what. It may take a while to piece this all together.”

The university is owned and operated by Bridgepoint Education, Inc., a publicly-traded, for-profit college firm headquartered in San Diego, Calif.  It purchased the college property from the Sisters of Saint Francis in 2005 and renamed it from Franciscan University. It was started in 1918 as Mount Saint Clare College.

Ashford officials said the incoming seniors will be the final class to graduate from the Clinton campus. Underclass students can attend campus classes during the 2015-2016 fall and spring semesters, and then will be given the opportunity to complete their studies online or through arrangements with other universities.

In addition to the campus buildings, Ashford University owns the former Clinton Country Club, now a $4.6 million athletic facility; the YMCA tennis center, and a baseball park that hosts a professional minor league baseball team.

Irene Entsminger of Clinton, a graduate of the predecessor Mount Saint Clare College, said the school provided a higher education option to students who lived in the southeastern Iowa region.

“It’s sad for the community that it is closing,” she said.

Bridgepoint Education, the parent company, also operates the University of the Rockies in Denver, a graduate school for human services and social sciences. It was not affected by the Clinton campus announcements.

Bloomberg Business reported that Andrew S. Clark, chief executive officer and co-founded of the company, received $3.5 million in total compensation in fiscal 2014, including $705,481 in salary, $2.5 million stock and stock options, and $290,000 in bonus pay.

Details for this story were provided by the Clinton (Iowa) Herald.