It opened in 1965 as White Pines College and closed at the end of the 2011–12 academic year for financial reasons.

Baines served as president of the college until he and the board of trustees decided to close the school in 2012.

Prior to the closure of the school the faculty and staff of the college arranged a vote of no confidence against Baines.

[5] The campus was sold in 2015 to Jiahui Education, which inaugurated a summer program in 2016 as Busche Academy for elementary and middle-school aged students from China.

Notable authors included Steve Almond, Nicholson Baker, Mary Gaitskill, Jennifer Haigh, Sharon Olds, George Saunders, and Michelle Tea.