Hampshire College closing in Amherst, Massachusetts. Graduate Ken Burns calls it "incalculable loss."

Hampshire College, a small liberal arts school in Amherst, Massachusetts, is closing permanently after the fall semester amid financial struggles and enrollment issues.

In statement, school president Jennifer Chrisler said the college "no longer has the resources to sustain full operations and meet regulatory responsibilities."

Hampshire College closing

The 800-acre college campus in western Massachusetts was founded in 1965. The school has been facing financial pressures for several years.

The announcement comes as other smaller colleges and universities have closed or downsized in recent years due to financial strain. Anna Maria College, a Catholic college in Paxton, Massachusetts, is currently facing an uncertain future and may not have the resources to stay open.

Filmmaker Ken Burns along with actors Liev Schrieber and Lupita Nyong'o are among the notable Hampshire College alumni.

Burns, who graduated in 1971, issued a statement about the college closing.

"Hampshire College is woven into the very fabric of who I am," Burns said. "This is an incalculable loss, the reverberations of which will be felt in ways none of us can imagine, but at the same time I know that Hampshire's ethos and probing way of seeing the world doesn't disappear when a campus goes quiet. The thousands of lives transformed by this miraculous, improbable place will carry its revolutionarily generative spirit forward for generations to come."

Chrisler said the timing of the school's closure is aimed at allowing students to complete their undergraduate education either at Hampshire College or a partner institution. 

"We want to assure you that Hampshire's board made its decision only after exploring every possible alternative," Chrisler said.

Hampshire College students react

On Tuesday students and staff walked solemnly through campus after learning the news during meetings held in the college's auditoriums.

"Everyone that is more of relative underclassmen is relatively screwed after the end of this semester. It just has ended, we don't get the fall, we only have a couple weeks to figure out stuff like transferring," said Jake Farrell, who transferred to Hampshire College this year.

Farrell said he was caught off guard by the announcement and worries he won't find a college like Hampshire anywhere else.

"It's really sad, because this school has a great concept in the liberty they give you and it's really a shame that it didn't work out," Farrell added.

"This is kind of a swan song for liberal institutions," added Liam Hennessy, who is in his first year at the college. "There's a real sense of love here and it is really sad and it's going to be sad to see this place become barren."

Even longtime faculty are still having trouble processing the loss of their beloved school.

"I'm at moments feeling grief, I'm stunned, but I think I will start to strategize and figure something out," said professor CJ Gill, who has taught at the college for more than 20 years.

Gill said she's keeping her focus on helping students who are going through an emotional time.