ST. PAUL — The College of Visual Arts in St. Paul said it will close its doors on June 30.

Administrators say the school was unable to weather the economic downturn and continue to meet the financial and academic needs of its students.

The four-year art and design school serves 170 students and employs 29 full-time staff as well as 45 adjunct professors. The school was founded in 1924 and became a four-year institution in 1996.

Enrollment went down sharply last year. This past fall the school took on 50 first-year students, when it had hoped to have 80.

CVA has reached an agreement with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to take students who would be seniors next year.