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Indianapolis-based Kenzie Academy, founded in 2017 to offer non-degree programs in coding, cybersecurity and other technology skills, has laid off most of its staff and is headed for closure.
“I can confirm that we have made the difficult decision to wind down operations of Kenzie Academy and teach out its programs,” said Siobhan Lopez, assistant director of media relations at Southern New Hampshire University, or SNHU, which owns the academy.
SNHU, a private, not-for-profit accredited university, acquired Kenzie Academy in 2021. Kenzie has a physical address in the Morrison Opera Place building at 47 S. Meridian St., but instruction is offered online. The school initially offered in-classroom instruction before switching to remote-only model early in the pandemic.
Lopez said 104 Kenzie employees have lost their jobs because of the pending shutdown, including 21 people who are based in Indianapolis.
Kenzie stopped accepting new students on Tuesday, Lopez said, but students who are currently enrolled will be able to finish their programs. Kenzie’s offerings include nine- and 12-month programs leading to certificates in areas such as cybersecurity, full stack web development, user experience design and others. Tuition ranges from $10,000 to $20,000, depending on the program.
“A small team will stay on to facilitate the Kenzie program teach-out and wind down other operations,” Lopez said.
Numerous people identifying themselves as former Kenzie employees announced their job losses on the social networking site LinkedIn on Tuesday and Wednesday. Their profiles indicate that they live in a wide range of places, including Boston, Nashville, Orlando and San Antonio.
Lopez said SNHU decided to shut down Kenzie for a variety of reasons, including financial pressures and the proliferation of artificial intelligence. She said SNHU had been working since 2021 to build “a more financially sustainable model” for Kenzie, but was not able to succeed.
“We know that despite the best efforts of the Kenzie team, where we find ourselves is with an expense model for Kenzie’s programs that is not sustainable, and increasing competition with low- to no-cost providers for learners,” Lopez wrote. “This decision point has been made even more pressing given the exponential adoption of AI and the implications this holds for our short-term technology credential portfolio moving forward.”
When Kenzie first launched, it offered an income-share arrangement that meant students could defer paying tuition until they had landed a job that paid at least $40,000 a year. By 2019, the school had landed significant outside funding to support its income-share arrangement and grow its enrollment in Indianapolis and nationwide. That funding included $100 million in financing from San Francisco-based Community Investment Management.
Kenzie, however, had discontinued the income-share arrangement by the time SNHU acquired the school in 2021.
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The reference to Artificial Intelligence should be viewed as a cautionary warning to every business – and its workforce – in the creative sphere. The casualty list will only continue to grow, leaving desperation and depression in its wake.
As a coding boot camp leader, always saddened to see a program fail. There are a lot of passionate people doing great work in the space. Business fundamentals are key and even my beloved Eleven Fifty Academy weathered through the storm last year.
I have more to say than is in scope to this remark, but promising thousands of jobs to hundreds of opportunities isn’t the answer. Free boot camps are only sustainable by the grants and public dollars behind them. In my opinion, innovative workforce programs should have access to the same capital opportunities as traditional education and learning.
Now concerning AI. AI is going to be a massive change in the creative space (and others), but their call out as a reason here is just pure PR baloney.
AI is going to be another powerful tool in the coding space. You might as well say the invention of the hammer will kill all the carpenter jobs.
We believe AI will create 3 jobs for every job it takes. Key will be equipping the workforce to take advantage of the new roles.
Anyone have an idea of what’s going on with the ground floor? The for lease sign is gone.