National Beauty School to Close All Locations

Regency Beauty Institute is a national beauty school that has been in business for 50 years and had expanded to 79 campuses nationwide. 10 of these locations were located in Illinois with one at 2904 Colorado Ave. in Joliet. The company announced however that effective immediately all campuses are closing their doors.

In an official statement from the Regency website, the company stated:

This is incredibly difficult news for everyone affected: especially our students, teachers, and staff. We recognize that some of you may be finding this out for the first time by reading this. We are truly sorry for the abrupt nature of this information.

How did this happen? In short, the organization does not have the cash to continue to run the business. There are multiple intertwined reasons: declining numbers of cosmetology students nationwide, a negative characterization of for-profit education by regulators and politicians that continues to worsen and, in light of these factors, an inability to obtain continued financing.

This is not another case of a school being forced to shut down because it was accused of wrongdoing. We held ourselves to high educational and ethical standards. The environment is simply not one that allows us to remain open. We diligently explored a range of strategic options that would benefit our students, teachers, and staff — and allow us to remain open. Unfortunately, those efforts were not successful.

Final transcripts are being mailed out to all former students. Regency is also trying to work out agreements with the state regarding the reimbursement of financial aid to students displaced or the replacement in nearby beauty schools. The sudden nature of the closure is making this difficult for many students and a few asked have stated they will give up on the cosmetology field.