In the summer of 2024, students, faculty, and alumni of the University of the Arts were blindsided by the sudden closure of their cherished institution.

Reckless Education tells the story of a community encouraged to “be reckless” in pursuit of their creative dreams, only to find that the real recklessness lay in the administration’s decision to abandon them. The documentary follows former students, faculty, and reporters as they navigate the aftermath, with lives irrevocably changed—students altering their educational paths, faculty facing sudden unemployment, and investigative journalists uncovering deeper truths about the financial mismanagement that led to the collapse. Through ongoing court battles and lawsuits, the film explores the community’s fight for justice and accountability.

Reckless Education unfolds through the eyes of these individuals, tracing their struggles, triumphs, and the long-term effects of the closure. It captures their personal stories as they rebuild their lives, while simultaneously revealing more about the institutional failures that led to the sudden collapse. From the summer of 2024 through the years that follow, the film delves into both the emotional toll and the legal battles as the UArts community seeks answers.

But the story of UArts is not an isolated event—it is part of a growing crisis in higher education across the United States. As noted by the Associated Press in a June 18, 2024, article, "Nationwide, private colleges have been closing at a rate of about two per month."

Reckless Education highlights how financial pressures, mismanagement, and declining enrollments are leading to the downfall of small private colleges, particularly those focused on the arts. The documentary raises urgent questions about the future of arts education and higher education as a whole, serving as both an elegy for UArts and a call to action to address the systemic issues threatening institutions across the country.