As of Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, Marinello Schools of Beauty has ceased operations and closed campuses for all its 56 locations.

This comes days after news that the U.S. Department of Education moved to cut federal funding to several of the school's locations. In an open letter to its students, Marinello Chairman and CEO Rashed Elyas expressed regret at the sudden shuttering of the schools, which have been educating since 1905.

"We want you to know that we did everything in our power to avoid this unfortunate conclusion and keep your school open," Elyas writes. "Unfortunately, the Department of Education’s unprecedented and unfounded actions left us with no other option except to close our schools."

Elyas goes on to note that meetings will be held on campus in the upcoming weeks to assist the 4,300 displaced students in acquiring paperwork and continuing their education elsewhere.

Considerably shaken by the announcement, schools, students and beauty professionals across the country have many questions about the closing. To that end, the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS) is hosting a 60-minute webinar on Wednesday, February 10 at 11 a.m. EST to discuss the events and sort out next moves. Registration for the webinar is available here.

"Despite this disruption, we encourage you to continue to pursue the goals you set for yourself when you enrolled at Marinello," Elyas writes. "We are proud of your achievements and know that you have a brighter future ahead because of the skills you developed with us. We wish you the very best of luck."

— Lauren Quick

This story first appeared on ModernSalon.com.