CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES: Canterbury College of Natural Medicine students Shaan Hames, left, and Namiko Hickson have been left to ponder their futures.

Up to 130 Christchurch students will be left unsure of their future when the Canterbury College of Natural Medicine closes.

It is understood the college has been sold to a North Island tertiary institution and will close this month in a move which has taken staff and students by surprise.

Valmai Becker, a former owner and current tutor at the privately owned college, said most staff and students were told by email. "At first [I] thought, maybe it's a hoax," Becker said. "[I] just couldn't believe it."

The sale has been approved by the Qualifications Authority on the condition students are given a list of alternative institutions for completing their courses.

Students who expected to graduate at the end of this year were able to stay at the college until October to complete their final papers.

Becker had six students she was teaching as part of a certificate in herbal studies. Only two would be able to complete their module.

Becker, a naturopath, started the college in 1993. It was bought in 2005 by Jenny Cookson and current director Di McCauley. McCauley did not return calls.