Here’s a statement posted to their website, attributed to CEO Roy Agostino:

I regret to announce that RED Academy is closing our Vancouver campus effective immediately.

The vision at RED was to create a world where everyone had the freedom to design and create the future they desire.

Our incredible employees strove to fulfill that vision every day. Even in the face of great trial and uncertainty, they invested in their students all their passion, ingenuity and creativity. Our mission was to help unlock the incredible potential of our students and together our employees and our students collaborated to create real impact in our community.

Similarly, we are proud to have been part of Vancouver’s vibrant and thriving technology ecosystem. Every cohort we had the privilege of working with dozens of local community partners to create “real-world” learning experiences for our students. These partners contributed to a unique learning experience for RED students and often went on to hire RED graduates to fuel innovation within their own organizations.

RED had the unstinting support of a committed group of investors that shared our vision and invested their time, wisdom and hard-earned capital to help us provide students with the skills needed to innovate and flourish in the digital economy. We did not accomplish all that we hoped, but without their commitment we would not have accomplished all that we did.

As painful as it is to close the school that we all love, it is of some comfort to know that our alumni and former employees will continue to enrich their communities with their talent, industry and passion.

Our immediate objective is to graduate our current cohort of students and support our incoming students with their transition. We have created a FAQ with next steps for our students and important contact details to expedite the transition.

Industry leaders have rallied together in this difficult time to provide support for our affected students. In particular, the executive leadership team at BrainStation immediately reached out to the leadership group at RED to create alternate pathways for as many students as possible. Their leadership in this difficult time has been greatly appreciated and our FAQ includes contact information to understand the support offered by the BrainStation team.

In addition, our industry regulators at Private Trainings Institution Branch (PTIB) also engaged immediately to work directly with students to assist them with their transition. Their contact information and more information on next steps and student options is also included in the FAQ.

Finally, there remains a team at RED working to deliver diplomas, tax receipts and financial statements to affected students. Thank you for your continued resilience and perseverance, I am grateful and humbled to have worked with you all.

Best regards,

Roy Agostino
CEO
RED Academy

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020