Paier College's fight to reopen is delayed again

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – Paier College still hasn't returned to classes for the fall semester, and now students will have to wait another month for answers.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the college was scheduled to present the reopening proposal to the state, but the state says the hearing was postponed until mid-December because Paier still does not have an attorney to represent it.

Shelby Emerson was a student at Paier College. She only had three courses left, but decided to start classes elsewhere when Paier first announced in August that the fall semester would be postponed.

“There are just a lot of unanswered questions and they need to answer them,” Emerson said.

In late September, Connecticut's Office of Higher Education announced that the school could not reopen because an investigation found a list of problems including evidence of mold, not enough teachers and unpaid bills.

The school is appealing the state's decision. The hearing was initially scheduled for the end of October, but was then postponed to November 12th. Now it has been postponed again to December 17th.

“Many students are probably still trying to figure out what their next step is. Should I go to another school? “Should I hold on?” said Emerson.

The I-Team called and emailed Paier officials to find out what was happening. No one has answered our calls since mid-August. When the I-Team went to campus on November 12, all the doors were locked, but we saw someone inside.

Through a Freedom of Information request, the I-Team obtained a copy of the closure plan Paier submitted to the state. The three-page document states that Paier would make teach-out arrangements with nearby institutions to help students complete their degrees, but it does not name the institutions or say how the teach-out would proceed.

“They left us in the dark about everything,” Emerson said.

Emerson finds it hard to believe Paier will ever open its doors to students again and thinks they should stop delaying the inevitable.

“I just think it's better for everyone involved if they just cut their losses and close the school,” Emerson said.

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