The University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos announced Thursday that it is closing its doors.
The news was shared via an email to students and staff by the school's founder, Frank Papatheofanis. In it, he said the school had ceased all employment as of Thursday.
The school's official athletics account shared the email on social media.
"USK can no longer meet its financial obligations because of a steep shortfall in operating cash," Papatheofanis wrote in the email. "Multiple reasons for this shortfall include extraordinary inflation, higher-than-anticipated salary increases, and high institutional financial aid."
The story was first reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Papatheofanis said he and the board had considered multiple options for keeping open the private Christian university, which was founded in 2010, but had been unsuccessful.
"As a WASC-accredited institution, we offered many undergraduate and graduate degree programs at one of the lowest tuition rates in California," he said in an email to KPBS. "Financial pressure due to unprecedented inflation and rising state-mandated labor costs prevent us from continuing this valuable work while remaining affordable."
Papatheofanis said the school would close on May 17, the end of the semester, and will file for bankruptcy.
