A small university to close with little warning. It blames the Education Department for its end.

Virginia-based Stratford University offered courses in business administration, culinary arts and nursing and was one of roughly two dozen schools approved to receive federal money by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. The Education Department, however, stripped ACICS of its power to accredit universities in August because it didn't meet government standards.

Because many for-profit colleges rely on federal aid to stay in business, losing access to that money can be a death sentence. A Friday email from Stratford President Richard Shurtz to students said the government barred the college from recruiting new students and required the school to post a “large letter of credit” – essentially collateral – before the institution could receive additional federal money.

“Sadly, these conditions made it impossible to continue in operation,” Shurtz wrote in an email obtained by USA TODAY. “Without new students, we would not have sufficient cash flow to operate. We will be forced to close operations at the end of this term at all locations.”

The federal government said institutions approved by ACICS, which won't appeal and has begun shutting down, would have 18 months to find a new accreditor if they wanted to keep receiving federal funding.

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