Barron Trump Is ‘Doing a Semester’ Away from NYU’s Main Campus, Official Says: Exclusive

Barron Trump was expected to return to New York University’s Greenwich Village campus on Tuesday, Sept. 2, to begin his second year of studies at the Stern School of Business — but he never showed up.

According to multiple campus security officers, the 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump has not appeared on NYU’s main campus since classes resumed for the fall semester.

“From what I was told,” one officer tells PEOPLE, “he’s doing a semester at another NYU campus.”

Officials declined to share more details about which campus he may have transferred to, citing privacy concerns, though NYU is a global network with several other locations domestic and abroad. Other degree-granting campuses are located in Downtown Brooklyn, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, and the university has numerous learning centers around the world, including in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where his parents are currently based.

Stern also hosts the International Business Exchange Program with partner colleges abroad, though it is usually reserved for juniors and seniors.

PEOPLE reached out to the first lady’s office, which fields questions about the Trump family, as well as NYU officials for more information.

Barron relocated from Palm Beach, Fla., to Trump Tower in Manhattan last year so that he could live within commuting distance from NYU’s Greenwich Village campus as he began his college studies.

Though he completed his freshman year at NYU in May, he didn’t spend the summer break lounging on the beach like some of his classmates.

A social source recently told PEOPLE that Barron spent most of his summer traveling between the Trump family properties and making plans for his future business. He has reportedly been in meetings with business partners, developing tech projects and setting up deals and plans to start his own company.

“Barron has been actively working on his own financial interests and has spent time with others who he is involved with in that area,” the source said of his summer agenda.

The teen also spent a “great deal of time” with his family, the source added.

In May, dating rumors began swirling around Barron after an anonymous “friend” on the NYU campus told NewsNation that the first son “has a really nice girlfriend and hangs out with her a lot,” The source provided no additional details and PEOPLE has been unable to confirm the claim.

The last time anyone in the Trump family commented on Barron’s romantic status was one month into his freshman year of college, when Donald told podcast host Patrick Bet-David, “I don’t think he’s had a girlfriend yet.”

Nearly a year later, PEOPLE’s source admitted that they also haven’t heard anything about Barron juggling a significant other — but added, “I don’t think that’s a big deal in his life right now.”

“He has more school, a family who dotes on him and a career of his own he is launching,” the source explained.

The first lady is known to keep a close eye on Barron. As her only child, a political source told people in August that Melania “watches Barron constantly in an effort to be sure nobody messes with him or bullies him, as this is a constant worry with her.”

“She always knows where he is and what he’s doing,” the source said.

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A PEOPLE source noted during Barron’s freshman year that he would be staying out of campus housing at least for the time being.

“[Melania] will do everything she can to make sure Barron does well in school and is socially and mentally adjusted to his life as a college student,” the political source said, adding that dorm living wasn’t “in the stars” for Barron “at this point.”