Park West shuts down Rock Hill barber school

Park West Barber School has closed its Rock Hill campus and six others, citing the “increasing costs associated with operating multiple campuses.”

The Rock Hill school, at 239 Hampton St., just across from City Hall, was closed March 29. An eviction notice dated Friday was still posted on the front door on Wednesday.

“Park West Barber School has been in existence successfully for 10 years,” the school said in a statement on its website. “As a result of increasing costs associated with operating multiple campuses, it is with great sadness and regret that ... Park West has made the difficult decision to close.”

In addition to the Rock Hill school, Park West closed two outlets in Charlotte, three more elsewhere in North Carolina – in Greensboro, Raleigh and Durham – and another in Alexandria, Va.

The school lost its accreditation from the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences earlier this month, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

“As a result of the announced closures and the subsequent withdrawal of accreditation,” the education department said in a statement, “all locations within the Park West Barber School chain have lost their eligibility to receive federal student aid funds from the U.S. Department of Education.”

Students attending Park West Barber School or who had withdrawn from the school within 120 days before the closing of the campuses have two options, according to the department:

▪ Apply for a closed school loan discharge

▪ Transfer earned credit hours to another institution to continue in a comparable program

“We encourage the students to continue their education so that they can achieve the goals they set for themselves,” Park West said on its website.

Efforts to reach school officials were unsuccessful on Wednesday.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Park West shuts down Rock Hill barber school."