Citing Rising Costs, Providence Christian College To Close This Spring

On Feb. 7, the board of trustees for Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California, voted to close the Reformed liberal arts school at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

The president’s announcement cites declining enrollments, rising operational costs, heightened accreditation expectations and the loss of federal funding.

“Being mindful of stewarding God’s resources well,” said Dr. Steven B. Kortenhoeven in his announcement, “and after exhausting a number of different options to decrease operational expenses, recruit additional students, and even change the campus location, the board felt that this was the only option remaining.”

In 2023, PCC received a $3 million grant from the Department of Education for being a Hispanic-Serving Institution. In the years prior, the PCC received the grant’s $600,000 disbursement on Oct. 1 and was supposed to be disbursed over the course of five years.

In 2025, the U.S. Solicitor General determined that Minority Serving Institution grant programs were unconstitutional, and they were cut. Kortenhoeven confirmed to MinistryWatch that PCC learned in September that its HSI grant would end effective immediately, leaving it just a few weeks to adjust to the loss.

“For a small college (with a small budget), the $600,000 that we received annually from this grant was significant,” Kortenhoeven told MinistryWatch.

PCC was designated as an HSI because over 25% of its undergraduate population was from Hispanic descent. The school used the funding to renovate spaces, provide academic support, develop a post-graduate student success office, and administer its new student orientation program, among other services for all students.

“I do not have the political/legal expertise or knowledge of how other institutions used these funds to comment on the Solicitor General’s ruling,” said Kortenhoeven, “but I know that these funds were closely regulated to align with our approved grant proposal. We were eligible for these funds because more than 25% of our students are Hispanic. However, these funds were used to improve the educational experience for all of our students.”

PCC, a Reformed liberal arts school, welcomed its first class of 22 students in 2005, making this its 20th year of teaching students in California, according to the PCC website. The school intended to provide an accessible Reformed and liberal arts education to West Coast students.

“The closing of a Christian college, similar to the closure of other Christian ministries, is heart-rending due to the deep, faith-filled commitment to the mission by its supporters, employees, and students,” Kortenhoeven told MinistryWatch. “However, we can celebrate the fact that for 20 years we have successfully delivered on what we promised academically … to ground students in biblical truth and educate them in the liberal arts; we just were not able to recruit enough students to be sustainable.”

PCC also faced pressure from its accreditor. The WASC Senior College and University Commission placed the school on probation in February 2025 asserting that PCC was out of compliance with accreditation standards because it lacked a multi-year financial plan and a strategic enrollment plan, which “threatened ongoing fiscal sustainability.” According to financial records, PCC operated at a $941,558 deficit in fiscal year 2024.

The action letter asserted PCC was also out of compliance with a standard regarding quality assurance processes for data collection and analysis for decision making.

“We are supportive of the accreditation process, agreed with the recommendations, and were working diligently to comply with all standards,” Kortenhoeven said. “However, a few factors led to being placed on probation.”

The college had gone without a president for four years, which delayed work on an updated strategic plan and institutional oversight. Additionally, it is a donor-dependent institution, but accreditors did not see its 20-year donors as “sufficient evidence of financial sustainability.”

Kortenhoeven said PCC had completed a strategic plan to meet the standards and were eager to present it to the accreditors. But the probation status impeded student enrollment, and low enrollment was the “primary deciding factor,” he told MinistryWatch.

“The challenges of ongoing low enrollment coupled with the high expense of operating a college in Southern California were insurmountable factors,” said Kortenhoeven in his announcement. “We have begun the process of closing operations.”

PCC is pursuing “teach-out partnerships” with nearby Biola University, Concordia University and The Master’s University. These schools will grant automatic admission to PCC students in good standing, accept transferred credits, and guarantee a comparable net out-of-pocket tuition cost.

PCC is also pursuing “transfer partnerships” with Dordt University, Calvin University and Covenant College. These schools will not offer the same guarantees as teach-out agreement schools, but they do provide benefits exceeding the typical transfer process.

For students and parents, the PCC website includes answers to frequently asked questions about the decision and next steps, including the transfer process, financial aid, work study, and housing.

“The reality of the world today is that Christian colleges (and other Christian ministries) need to operate from a ‘market-aware’ business mindset,” Kortenhoeven said. “Unfortunately, the short and blunt expression “no margins, no ministry” is more true than we want it to be.”

PCC’s closure is another example of a Christian college shuttering due to financial and enrollment concerns. MinistryWatch has often reported information on the tumultuous Christian education landscape and has documented closings over the last several years, including schools in North Carolina and New York in 2025.