On Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA), a college preparatory military boarding school in Wayne, announced that they will close their doors in May 2026 after nearly 100 years of operation. This year’s graduating class, the 98th Corps of Cadets, will receive a VFMA diploma before operations cease. Despite this closure, Valley Forge Military College (VFMC), which shares a campus with VFMA, will continue to operate and is offering automatic acceptance to all VFMA students who meet admission standards.
VFMA’s decision to close comes as a result of multiple economic and legal factors. Rising cost of living has discouraged parents from sending their children to private boarding schools like VFMA, causing a decrease in enrollment. Furthermore, changes to Pennsylvania Law have left the military academy with fewer legal protections and skyrocketing insurance premiums. After reviewing the current cost of operation, the board of trustees decided that the school’s operation was no longer financially viable.
The closure of VFMA comes after a string of recent university closures. Similarly to VFMA, small, private colleges like Cabrini University have seen decreasing enrollment in the past four years caused by increasing tuition costs and a declining number of high school graduates. While these schools often have a smaller cushion in their operating budget to accommodate decreased enrollment, larger schools have also had to make cuts. Penn State is one such institution, who cite enrollment declines for the closure of seven of their branch campuses.
Despite these recent trends in university closures, VFMA assured the community that VFMC “remains strong and is expanding its academic programs.” The college is a completely independent entity, and does not share trustees or leadership board with VFMA.
Since 2022, Eastern University has rented athletic facilities from VFMA. Eastern has a long-term lease with the military academy on a football field and a weight room, which are regularly used by multiple Eastern sports teams. The facilities provided by VFMA played a vital role in the expansion of Eastern’s athletics programs, with the University currently boasting nearly 700 athletes. As of now, it is unclear whether these facilities will continue to be available to Eastern following the closure of VFMA in the spring. “As the university scheduler, I know that the next approaching meeting of the Board of Trustees is in November, so it is likely that a decision will not be made until then,” Amelia Coates, Eastern’s Scheduling and Logistics Coordinator, said.
The VFMA is yet another victim of falling enrollment rates in private schools and universities across the country. The closure of the school, after nearly 100 years as a part of the local community, will likely have an impact on Wayne. Only time will tell what this closure means for Eastern and the surrounding area.