Faculty submit complaint to New England Commission for Higher Education (NECHE)
On October 3, 2022, VCFA Faculty formally submitted a complaint to New England Commission for Higher Education. The following material is a portion of the complaint.
Summary of the complaint
This complaint details how the President and Board of Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) violated its written governance and five NECHE Accreditation Standards with their decision, made in secret with no faculty or student input, to fundamentally change the pedagogy and location of the 41-year-old MFA program.
On June 15, 2022 Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) President Leslie Ward sent an email to some, but not all VCFA students and alumnx announcing a plan to move the college’s summer residencies to Colorado College and hold winter residencies online. The first time VCFA faculty or staff were informed of this decision was immediately before the email went out. At the time, President Ward stated that the college is financially stable, and the decision came about primarily because administrators wanted to encourage collaboration among VCFA’s artists, however, at no point was interdisciplinary collaboration ever requested, demanded, or even discussed by college faculty or other constituents.
The VCFA community learned through the press that President Ward also planned to lease or sell the historic Montpelier campus, though this information was not included in the June 15th email. It was later learned that the VCFA Board had been working with real estate consulting firm White & Burke to facilitate the sale of the campus properties.
Since the announcement there have been multiple conflicting statements offered to faculty and students regarding the financial health of the college, from statements that VCFA is currently in a healthy financial position which is sustainable for several years, to statements that if the move to Colorado College and the sale of the campus properties are not accomplished, VCFA’s tenuous financial status will leave leadership with no other no choice than to close. Cost analyses of various solutions have been denied faculty, students, and alumnx, despite repeated requests for financial detail.
In response to significant and overwhelming concerns from VCFA constituents about the rapid relocation to Colorado and the rush to sell the college real estate in Montpelier, President Ward sent a second email June 18th to provide clarification. In this email she emphasized that Vermont College was not on the verge of collapse. However, in subsequent conversations and interviews both President Ward and the Board repeatedly asserted that the college has serious financial concerns that demand immediate action to avoid closure. Leadership has been quoted by media with assurances that the college’s financial situation is stable for the next three to four years, and a recent update from the Board Chair affirms that VCFA “was not — and is not now — in imminent financial distress.” Both stated reasons for their decision to change the VCFA paradigm — a desire for interdisciplinary opportunities and impending financial catastrophe — seem to be matters of opinion rather than fact, and the decision-making process did not abide by the shared governance structure of the college.
President Ward and Board publicly acknowledged that the circumstances and discussions leading to this decision were intentionally kept secret, in order to avoid negative impact to enrollment and donor contributions. No input from faculty, students, large donors or non-board member or staff alumnx was solicited. Plans for developing college properties are a matter of public record, as part of a May, 2018 Montpelier TIF district proposal prepared by White & Burke. Still, the Board chose to keep information about the college’s financial projections, and the plan to sell college properties and leave Montpelier confidential until after VCFA and Colorado College had signed a contractual agreement.
A significant number of constituents across all classes — students, faculty, staff, alumnx, community members, supporters, and large donors - are deeply dissatisfied with both the overall decision and the manner of decision-making. Faculty, students, staff, alumnx, and other constituents ask why these changes, which will fundamentally and permanently alter the culture and the pedagogy of this historic college, must be made now, implemented immediately, and in ongoing secrecy. Despite repeatedly asking those questions, President Ward and the Board are unable or unwilling to provide answers, and continue to insist that the decisions be accepted with no faculty and student input and with no transparency.
Questions about a possible conflict of interest related to the Board’s relationship with White & Burke have surfaced. Details about what alternatives were considered and researched have been refused. No evidence for the need for these changes has been shared. No cost analyses have been disclosed. Since the announcement, stakeholders’ requests for the following information have gone unanswered:
Access to independent third-party marketing impact reports and independent third-party enrollment feasibility studies, especially as they relate to the impact on donors, students and the VCFA brand resulting from moving the college away from the Eastern seaboard;
Building-by-building real estate valuations and general upgrade projections, as well as ADA compliance upgrade projections and detailed facilities plans;
Detailed financial reports and VCFA’s long-term financial plan;
A 3-5 year strategic plan that thoughtfully lays out how this paradigm shift will not dismantle a 40-year successful brand, but rather sustain and strengthen it;
Annual accreditation reports;
Full disclosure as to whether or not the Board notified NECHE of its plan to sell the campus and leave Montpelier, and documentation from NECHE approving a substantive change from VCFA’s stated mission, which is rooted in educating students in Montpelier;
Five years of college board meeting minutes and five years of annual reports; and
Detailed plans regarding the impact and execution of the proposed shift to an interdisciplinary residency model.
Additionally, the board has repeatedly denied constituent requests for a six month pause in order to run a capital campaign (which was not undertaken to address campus property needs) and to understand better the reasoning for the decision. We sense that the urgency to sell campus properties is driven by a looming March 23rd, 2023 deadline for Montpelier TIF District to incur the first instance of debt and retention of the tax increment. We believe that the Board’s decision-making process did not adhere to the college’s Bylaws and Governance Policy. We believe that the Board violated the college’s Conflict of Interest Policy. We believe that the college’s intentional misrepresentation of the Board’s intent for the future of the college violates the college’s Fraud Policy. We further believe that the Board’s decision-making process violated, and continues to violate accreditation standards related to Standards Two, Three, Four, Seven and Nine. Finally, we believe that the plan significantly alters the nature of the institution, its mission and objectives, its educational program, and the allocation of its resources, and therefore constitutes a substantive change as defined by NECHE.
We understand that accreditation complaints must meet seven criteria to be considered by the Commission.
We submit the following information, and appreciate your consideration.
Details of the complaint
Located in Montpelier, the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a small private college that offers low residency MFA programs in Writing, Writing for Children and Young Adults, Music Composition, Film, Visual Arts and Graphic Design. Students and faculty convene on the Montpelier campus twice a year for intensive two-week residencies. Historically, VCFA’s programs have been recognized as some of the most prestigious MFA programs in the country, and the VCFA brand is highly regarded.
On June 15th, 2022, VCFA President Leslie Ward announced a decision to move the college’s 2023 and 2024 summer residencies to Colorado College, and to hold all programs’ winter residencies online. Though the announcement did not include the news that the campus properties in Montpelier would be sold, she did disclose this information to the press. This stunning announcement came as a complete surprise to all VCFA constituents. Prior to the announcement, no information related to these profound changes had been communicated. No opportunity for constituent input and participation in the decision-making process was allowed. In fact, President Ward and the Board made an internal agreement to withhold all information that led to this decision from constituents and the public until a contract had been signed with Colorado College in May, 2022. (see VCFA Stakeholder Survey Results, see 9/8/22 Mike Goldstein Community Update)
Since the announcement, faculty, student and alumnx have submitted formal requests for detailed information that led to these decisions. They have requested that President Ward and the Board temporarily pause plans to sell campus properties, to allow constituents an opportunity to fully review information, explore options and provide input before moving forward. The requests for specific information have gone unanswered, and the request for a pause has been firmly rejected. (see VCFA Alumnx/Stakeholder Letter, Open Letter from Visual Arts Faculty, Open Letter from Students, Mike Goldstein email 7/11/22)
Independent constituent research into moving the 2023 and 2024 summer residencies to Colorado College and the proposed sale of campus properties has led to significant ethical and conflict of interest concerns. At least as far back as May 2021, these plans had been evolving, and yet current and prospective students and donors were intentionally kept in the dark. Emerging information about plans to divest campus properties raises many questions, first and foremost – why the rush?
Current students are especially impacted, as they invested in a program that promoted itself as a low-residency campus-based program located in Montpelier, Vermont. These students have to make difficult decisions about how to proceed relative to unanticipated travel and shipping expenses, additional travel times to and from the Eastern seaboard, and a dramatically different geographical and culturally diverse location. They have expressed disappointment with the change to winter residencies online, and to leaving Vermont. They are also being forced to change the time of year of the semiannual residencies they planned for. For some programs, this requires as much as a 3-month “hiatus” for all students as well as graduations. In short, this is a substantially different program and learning experience than what students signed up for.
Faculty face similar decisions. They pursued coveted jobs to teach at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, Vermont, and now have to make difficult decisions about the move to Colorado. After the summer of 2024, there are no contingency plans beyond Colorado College. As there will be no Montpelier campus, where does this precarity leave faculty?
There are currently no plans in place for winter residencies, nor funding for their planning or execution. In a recent email (see Letter from Academic Dean Matthew Monk to Faculty Chairs and Co-Chairs), Dean Monk requests faculty’s involvement in planning winter residencies, but states that there are no funds for this extra work. Similarly, even for the planned move to Colorado, faculty participation is belatedly requested for free. A small number of Chairs and faculty were asked if they would be part of a group visit to Colorado College at the end of September, but without any stipend for their time (2-3 days). This would not be a vacation, but work for which the faculty is not contracted.
Alumnx have a continuing interest in the VCFA brand value. Selling campus properties, relocating the 2023 and 2024 summer residencies to Colorado College and moving winter residencies online significantly reduces the brand value.
Since the announcement, the President and Board have met with constituent groups; however little new information has been provided, developing opportunities for constituent input and participation in the decision-making process have been limited and unclear, and leadership refuses to suspend plans to divest campus properties.
Though VCFA leadership publicly celebrates its exceptional faculty as the reason VCFA can move anywhere in the country and maintain its reputation, behind closed doors, faculty who are resistant to the plans made without their input are continually told that if they don’t like the plan, they’re “free to leave” the college. Students who have expressed their dismay at the change in their chosen program have also been told that they are free to leave, though graduate credits are often non-transferable and leaving the school would not, of course, discharge debt incurred for semesters to date. Though the robust alumnx network is a vital source of donor support and referrals to potential students, they have been repeatedly cautioned not to resist VCFA’s plans, and told that they will be responsible for the demise of the college if they continue to speak out. This approach to leadership is adversarial, and creates a toxic work environment for faculty, destroys the trust of alumnx, and leaves current students in a precarious and uncertain program of study.
This complaint addresses concerns regarding President Ward and the Board’s failure to adhere to VCFA governance and NECHE Standards for Accreditation. A timeline of events follows:
Timeline
May 2021 – Board Meeting discussions begin about announced plans
August 2021 – Board meeting - Board gives unanimous approval to Leadership Team to pursue partnership with another college (Colorado College) and sell off properties
November 2021 - Board Meeting – Board enlists real estate firm White & Burke to divest properties
December 2021 NECHE Request for Information
February 2022 – Board Meeting – Board commits to move forward with Colorado College partnership
March 2022 – Report to NECHE in response to December 2021 NECHE Information Request
March 2022 – Leadership team visits Colorado College Campus
5/2022 – Contract signed with Colorado College to lease campus space for 2023 and 2024 summer residencies
5/2022 – Board hires White and Burke to divest VCFA campus properties
6/15/22 – President Ward initial email announcement
6/18/22 - President Ward follow-up email announcement
6/21/22 – Alumnx/VCFA Stakeholder letter to the Board asking for a pause
6/22/22 – VCFA Community Zoom Call with President Ward and Mike Goldstein
6/30/22 – VCFA Alumnx Zoom Call with President Ward and others
7/1/22 – VCFA Students Letter to President Ward and the Board
7/5/22 – VCFA Stakeholder Update
7/7/22 - Email to Michael Goldstein again requesting meeting with Stakeholders group
7/11/22 – Email to Michael Goldstein outlining concerns
7/11/22 - Email from Michael Goldstein agreeing to meet
7/18/22 - Alumnx/VCFA Stakeholder meeting with Board
7/21/22 - Co-Chairs Zoom meeting
7/26/22 – Meeting with Visual Arts/Protest – President Ward did not attend
7/26/22 - Public Protest on campus grounds
7/26/22 – Visual Arts students email demands to President Ward and Mike Goldstein
7/27/22 Visual Arts faculty meet with President Ward and Academic Dean Matthew Monk
7/27/22 – Visual Arts Faculty Letter to President Ward and Academic Dean Matthew Monk
8/2/22 - VCFA Stakeholder and Students Zoom meeting
8/4/22 - VCFA Stakeholder Survey
8/6/22 – Visual Arts Students Email to Mike Goldstein
8/9/22 – Film Faculty Letter to President Ward and Board
8/13/22 – President Ward Email response to Visual Arts Faculty requests
8/18/22 – Visual Arts students express dissatisfaction with President Ward’s leadership
8/19/22 – President Ward email to Visual Arts students telling them to deal directly with Board
9/8/22 - Letter from Mike Goldstein/Community Update
9/12/22 Academic Council Meeting with President Ward
9/12/22 – VCFA Alumnx Request for Follow-Up to 7/18/22 meeting to Board
9/13/22 – President Ward apology to Academic Council for behavior in 9/12/22 meeting
9/15/22 – Faculty Chairs and co-Chairs meet with Academic Dean Matthew Monk
9/18/22 – VCFA Alumnx 2nd Request for Follow-Up to 7/18/22 meeting to Board
9/23/22 - Faculty Chairs and co-Chairs meet with Academic Dean Matthew Monk
9/23/22 - Letter to Stakeholders with survey results
9/23/22 – Letter from Academic Dean Matthew Monk to Faculty Chairs and Co-Chairs
9/23/22 – Meeting to continue conversation about VCFA campus master plan – VCFA Community not informed. Meeting announcement posted on Front Porch Forum.
9/26/22 – Letter of No Confidence in President Ward sent by Faculty
March 2023 – TIF District Project Deadline