Hawaii Business College, which had operated as a private two-year college in Downtown Honolulu for decades, has closed with no sign that it could reopen.

State consumer officials are investigating what happened. Stephen Levins, executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection, said the closing follows the school's eviction from the longtime location at 33 S. King St. and its loss of accreditation by a national organization.

Yesterday, the phone number listed for the college was not accepting calls and its Web site was not working.

Levins said his office has received 12 complaints about the college.

"We have concerns about the manner in which the school closed," he said. "We do have an ongoing investigation."

He said most of the complaints came when the school's Downtown offices closed in June. He said the school had changed owners in recent years but a current official had told students earlier he was working to relocate and reopen.

"I think they secured some kind of premises in Waikiki," Levins said, but his office had seen no evidence that a reopening has been scheduled.

In the past, the college had been certified by the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools, a national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

But the accrediting organization revoked accreditation for Hawaii Business College, effective July 3, according to the accreditation agency's Web site. The organization also lists the college's status as "no appeal available."

Levins said the federal Department of Education has indicated that former students who obtained federally guaranteed student loans can apply to have those loans forgiven.

But he cautioned that would apply to the federally guaranteed loans and not to private lending arrangements.

Students would need to file an application, which his office could help facilitate, he said. "If the school has closed, those loans may be forgiven or discharged, which would effectively cancel the loan," he said.

State business records indicated the school was established in 1976 as Hawaii School of Business and changed its name to Hawaii Business College in 1984.

In the past, officials said several hundred students attended classes there, with full-time tuition of more than $10,000 a year. Students received two-year degrees in medical, clinical and administrative work, and computer skills, as well as other office work.

State law now requires that vocational or private trade schools be licensed through the state Department of Education's community schools.

But educational specialist Annette Young-Ogata said there are no records that the college had been licensed by the state.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.