Mount Ida students walk across stage for final commencement ceremony

It's a bittersweet day for Mount Ida students as the school hosted their final commencement ceremony.

After Saturday, the college will no longer exist due to a recent acquisition of the institution by UMass Amherst. The liberal arts school's campus in Newton was sold to UMass Amherst back in April, in a decision many are still fighting.

Students were notified abruptly then that the school would close and all employees would lose their jobs.

The class of 2018 proudly walked across the stage as the last class to graduate from Mount Ida College. Students speaking at the ceremony have expressed their anger at the college, but also gratitude toward their professors and other staff members who they say continued to help them even though many had to start hunting for jobs.

Current students have been scrambling to figure out how they'll finish their degrees, and even graduating students are faced with some uncertainty.

“She’s pretty sad about it because she has to take a couple more classes so she doesn’t know where she’s going to go from there," said Shiloh Melanson, who's daughter is graduating from Mt. Ida. "Maybe UMass Dartmouth is offering some extra classes – the department is going over there.”

UMass Dartmouth is offering automatic admission to Mount Ida students in good standing, but the deal is under scrutiny by the state Senate. The Senate post audit and oversight committee plans to hold a hearing on the issue this upcoming Wednesday.

Cox Media Group