So, why would Fr. Fessio tell prospective donors that the school is "unaccredited", particularly since AMU administrators have used the term "preaccredited" or "candidacy" to describe the institution's status in public?

This may not be the first time that donors have been mislead.

In March 2005, New Oxford Review reported what appears to be a rather blatant lie to donors:

"Consider the following quotes from a November 2004 AMU Florida fundraising letter signed by Chancellor Monaghan, sent to my home and, presumably, sent to thousands of Catholics on his PR mailing list: - "Although we have never met face to face, I suspect you and I have a lot in common." - "We [AMU] have been offered 50,000 books for $500,000. God has certainly granted us a miracle. But that miracle depends on special friends like you." - "The $10-per-book offer we received is nothing short of a godsend. Unfortunately, we don't have much time to mull over the purchase. We must act now or the books may be offered to another college or university. I'd hate to miss what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But since our funds are limited right now, we may not be able to make a commitment unless friends like you join us in this worthy effort." - "Donate $250 or more and your name will be inscribed with a plaque.. .. But more important than this earthly recognition will be the heavenly reward that you'll receive for serving the Church so faithfully."

What would you reasonably conclude? That you and billionaire Tom Monaghan have much in common? That the books of which he speaks have not yet been paid for? That there is the potential to lose the books to another buyer? That the decision to secure this exclusive acquisition will depend on the prompt generosity of donors? If you answered "yes" to any of these, you would be wrong.

After several inquiries initiated by myself and others, AMU officials in both the library and development offices admitted no knowledge of the large pending book acquisition referred to by Monaghan. AMU's professional book buyer had no such acquisitions lined-up for Chancellor Monaghan. Everyone, however, commented that Monaghan could only be referring to the Wadhams Hall Seminary Library (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) which had already been purchased at this price with Michigan College monies back in 2002.

I don't see how this letter from the University's Chancellor can be characterized as anything but a fraudulent fundraising tactic meant to deceive the public into believing that some opportunity - that actually existed in the past - exists in the present."


Maybe Fr. Fessio is continuing the apparent tradition of crisis-generation for fundraising. Then again, Fr. Fessio's role in accreditation is suspect. A June 14, 2004 "Statement of Ave Maria University Officials" published in The Wanderer said

"Fr. Fessio had no contact with either accrediting agency prior to June 11th, 2004, when he participated in a meeting with AALE’s Chairman of the Board regarding AMU’s application for pre-accreditation."

But Fr. Fessio did appear to have high-level meetings with AALE as early as January 2004. AMU President Nick Healy's "Weekly Report" for January 19, 2004 states

"Past week's activities: Conference call with Jack Sites, Father Fessio, and Jeff Wallin [AALE Chairman] on merger and effect on AALE accreditation. Jeff confirms they will work with us to assure AMU has accreditation by or after the merger."

An investigation of the accreditation ties between University administrators, Ave Maria College (Michigan), AALE, and prominent Catholics such as political insider Deal Hudson, is forthcoming.

One concern is clear, however. Prospective and current AMU students should be asking what happens to them if AALE decides to NOT accredit the school when its "preaccreditation" status expires November 2007. Many graduate schools will not accept undergraduate or graduate credit from unaccredited institutions.

Another red flag is the apparent fact that "many students.. withdraw after they've been here [at AMU] for a semester or two." Accreditors and parents should ask why students are leaving if, as Fessio brags at the beginning of his letter, the incoming student standardized test scores are so high. Blaming the students for not being "ready for the academic or the spiritual challenges" seems true to form; it must be "them", not AMU. The student withdrawals also beg the question as to why a donor would want to give his money to kids who might not stay at AMU?

Tags: accreditation, accountability