An accreditation board has placed St. Paul College on probation just two months after its president announced his intent to step down amid allegations of fostering a "climate of fear and intimidation."
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) issued a two-year probation Thursday, citing concerns about high staff turnover, inadequate record keeping and underqualified instructors.
A six-page report outlining the board's rationale also referenced an April 19 letter signed by most full-time faculty identifying campus climate as an ongoing problem. Faculty members lamented that "their opinions are not taken seriously by the administration in the decisionmaking process."
But the criteria that ultimately triggered probationary status was the failure to properly assess student learning.
"We knew this was a likely outcome," said Ron Anderson, senior vice chancellor for the Minnesota State system. "I have every confidence that, as challenging as this is, they are going to come out of it stronger and more resilient."
St. Paul College is the first and only school to be placed on probation within Minnesota State's network of 30 state colleges and seven universities.
The public two-year college will remain accredited through 2021 but is required to notify its 7,000 students — and even prospective ones — of its probationary status. Interim President Deidra Peaslee said the school is working hard to address HLC's concerns and assured staffers that the accreditation decision would have minimal impact on students.
"Our students' ability to begin or complete their course of study and access financial aid are not affected," Peaslee said in a statement. "To further assure that our students are not affected, St. Paul College's leadership is reaching out to our four-year college partners to reaffirm existing credit transfer agreements and practices."
