accreditation
AMU Accreditor Not Endorsed by ED
Fri, Dec21, 2007 - Category: University
Ave Maria University's only access to federal
financial aid is through The American Academy for
Liberal Education (AALE). As AveWatch readers know
(see series here),
AALE has been in hot water with the federal
Department of Education since 2001. Earlier this
week, a Department of Education (ED) panel
charged with reviewing accrediting agencies
(NACIQI) voted (again) to not endorse AALE's
renewal as an agency and, instead, chose to
defer the decision to renew or boot AALE for one
year.
Chronicle of Higher Education, Weds. Dec. 19, 2007 (subscription):
AALE returned for its follow-up review this week, with Naciqi's professional staff having graded the accreditor as largely complying with the conditions set out a year ago, though without having fully demonstrated changes through updated assessments of its member colleges.
A department official who prepared the staff analysis, Steve Porcelli, told Naciqi that the accreditor's leadership had been a "failure" in the past. Yet the AALE's member institutions had forced changes that made the academy worthy of another one-year extension of accrediting authority, Mr. Porcelli said. "To not give it a chance would be almost a shame," he said.
Naciqi did endorse the one-year extension, and it also voted unanimously to suggest that the secretary allow the academy to resume accrediting new applicant colleges.
Chronicle of Higher Education, Thurs. Dec. 20, 2007 (subscription):
Naciqi, during the two-day series of reviews for 17 accrediting agencies, endorsed the renewal applications of all but two. Those, the American Academy for Liberal Education and the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, received deferrals that would grant them continued federal authority while they resolve some problem areas.
AMU was supposed to be evaluated by AALE in November to receive either final full accreditation or to be dropped by the agency; AMU was on its last possible round of temporary pre-accreditation with AALE. Instead of voting to accept or reject AMU last month, AALE recently extended AMU's temporary accreditation "because of AALE's uncertain status with the federal Department of Education". This extension violated AALE's own rules in terms of (a) the number of extensions that AMU has received and (b) AALE's own stated policy of requesting and evaluating public input on the schools that it evaluates. That is, AALE sought no public input on AMU (see here).
Ave Maria and AALE have a history of questionable interactions including, most recently, an offer by AMU to give AALE significant financial assistance. This conflict-of-interest may explain the curious report last month by Naples Daily News in which "the AALE was organizing a third-party site visit to Ave Maria in the spring to evaluate the school." Why would an accrediting agency, whose purpose is to evaluate institutions, want or need to bring in "a third-party" to do AMU's site visit? Strange.
As AALE's existence hangs by a thread, the agency and its member institutions should think long and hard about whether the antics of AMU are worth the added scrutiny that the public and the Department of Education will heap upon them.
AMU's application to another accreditor, SACS, does not look promising and is, according to the former Provost of AMU, "still 3-4 years away".
Chronicle of Higher Education, Weds. Dec. 19, 2007 (subscription):
AALE returned for its follow-up review this week, with Naciqi's professional staff having graded the accreditor as largely complying with the conditions set out a year ago, though without having fully demonstrated changes through updated assessments of its member colleges.
A department official who prepared the staff analysis, Steve Porcelli, told Naciqi that the accreditor's leadership had been a "failure" in the past. Yet the AALE's member institutions had forced changes that made the academy worthy of another one-year extension of accrediting authority, Mr. Porcelli said. "To not give it a chance would be almost a shame," he said.
Naciqi did endorse the one-year extension, and it also voted unanimously to suggest that the secretary allow the academy to resume accrediting new applicant colleges.
Chronicle of Higher Education, Thurs. Dec. 20, 2007 (subscription):
Naciqi, during the two-day series of reviews for 17 accrediting agencies, endorsed the renewal applications of all but two. Those, the American Academy for Liberal Education and the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, received deferrals that would grant them continued federal authority while they resolve some problem areas.
AMU was supposed to be evaluated by AALE in November to receive either final full accreditation or to be dropped by the agency; AMU was on its last possible round of temporary pre-accreditation with AALE. Instead of voting to accept or reject AMU last month, AALE recently extended AMU's temporary accreditation "because of AALE's uncertain status with the federal Department of Education". This extension violated AALE's own rules in terms of (a) the number of extensions that AMU has received and (b) AALE's own stated policy of requesting and evaluating public input on the schools that it evaluates. That is, AALE sought no public input on AMU (see here).
Ave Maria and AALE have a history of questionable interactions including, most recently, an offer by AMU to give AALE significant financial assistance. This conflict-of-interest may explain the curious report last month by Naples Daily News in which "the AALE was organizing a third-party site visit to Ave Maria in the spring to evaluate the school." Why would an accrediting agency, whose purpose is to evaluate institutions, want or need to bring in "a third-party" to do AMU's site visit? Strange.
As AALE's existence hangs by a thread, the agency and its member institutions should think long and hard about whether the antics of AMU are worth the added scrutiny that the public and the Department of Education will heap upon them.
AMU's application to another accreditor, SACS, does not look promising and is, according to the former Provost of AMU, "still 3-4 years away".
AMU Accreditation: What Me Worry?
Thu, Dec06, 2007 - Category: University
Have you ever seen a person stumble and then pretend
that he intended to stumble? It looks silly,
right?
Ave Maria University, if anything, is a hoot. Yesterday, the Naples Daily News ran a story whose title says it all - "Ave Maria not worried about losing federal funding amid uncertainty over accreditor's status". It is hardly a coincidence that this article appears only days after another story on AMU's latest inability to gain permanent accreditation. But, in AMU's attempt to pretend that it isn't stumbling, parents and students should ask what it says of administrators who are "not worried".
AveWatch has been a leader in covering AMU's accreditation, serving as a journalistic source to various new agencies. Be sure to read our extensive coverage here. Anyone who has followed AALE, the AMU accrediting agency in question, knows that they have been in trouble with the federal Department of Education for over 6 years, since 2001. The fact that AMU put its eggs into AALE's basket for so long, and that AMU has had such lengthy difficulty with accreditation, speaks much of its amateurish administration and a University lawyer-President preoccupied with building-up the real estate development owned by his client, AMU Chancellor Tom Monaghan. In AMU's typical style of using hubris as the best technique to cover for its problems, yesterday's NDN article says "In some ways, the school’s potential accreditation void is the result of its large ambition." This is the same "ambition" that is destroying the academic community at Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law. For all its "ambition", AMU could not earn full accreditation from a strongly conservative accreditor that has some of the least restrictive standards among accrediting agencies. How much better it is for the Healy-Monaghan administration to blame "ambition" for poor stewardship in "smaller" things... to blame "ambition" for valuing communities of steel and concrete above communities of flesh and mind.
The most interesting tidbit in the NDN article is additional insight into the firing of AMU's high-profile Fr. Joseph Fessio:
"Last year, then-Provost the Rev. Joseph Fessio referred to the school’s lack of final accreditation as contributing negatively to the school’s ability to attract students. But [AMU VP] Sites said tying enrollment figures to accreditation status was a "fallacious idea."
AveWatch readers will recall that we released a story on March 9, 2007 titled "AMU's Sole Accreditor in Big Trouble". Fessio was fired as Provost on March 21. It may be that the issue of how accreditation impacts enrollment was the "irreconcilable difference over administrative policies and practice" that was cited by AMU officials as the basis for Fessio's firing. In November 2006, prior to Fessio's booting, AveWatch reported on how Fessio was telling donors that lack of accreditation was part of AMU's "crisis".
According to the article, AMU's VP John "Jack" Sites went on to say, "We’re no longer in the first year... Everyone knows who we are and what we’re about." "
Indeed, we know who Ave Maria is and what the Ave Maria schools are about.
Ave Maria University, if anything, is a hoot. Yesterday, the Naples Daily News ran a story whose title says it all - "Ave Maria not worried about losing federal funding amid uncertainty over accreditor's status". It is hardly a coincidence that this article appears only days after another story on AMU's latest inability to gain permanent accreditation. But, in AMU's attempt to pretend that it isn't stumbling, parents and students should ask what it says of administrators who are "not worried".
AveWatch has been a leader in covering AMU's accreditation, serving as a journalistic source to various new agencies. Be sure to read our extensive coverage here. Anyone who has followed AALE, the AMU accrediting agency in question, knows that they have been in trouble with the federal Department of Education for over 6 years, since 2001. The fact that AMU put its eggs into AALE's basket for so long, and that AMU has had such lengthy difficulty with accreditation, speaks much of its amateurish administration and a University lawyer-President preoccupied with building-up the real estate development owned by his client, AMU Chancellor Tom Monaghan. In AMU's typical style of using hubris as the best technique to cover for its problems, yesterday's NDN article says "In some ways, the school’s potential accreditation void is the result of its large ambition." This is the same "ambition" that is destroying the academic community at Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law. For all its "ambition", AMU could not earn full accreditation from a strongly conservative accreditor that has some of the least restrictive standards among accrediting agencies. How much better it is for the Healy-Monaghan administration to blame "ambition" for poor stewardship in "smaller" things... to blame "ambition" for valuing communities of steel and concrete above communities of flesh and mind.
The most interesting tidbit in the NDN article is additional insight into the firing of AMU's high-profile Fr. Joseph Fessio:
"Last year, then-Provost the Rev. Joseph Fessio referred to the school’s lack of final accreditation as contributing negatively to the school’s ability to attract students. But [AMU VP] Sites said tying enrollment figures to accreditation status was a "fallacious idea."
AveWatch readers will recall that we released a story on March 9, 2007 titled "AMU's Sole Accreditor in Big Trouble". Fessio was fired as Provost on March 21. It may be that the issue of how accreditation impacts enrollment was the "irreconcilable difference over administrative policies and practice" that was cited by AMU officials as the basis for Fessio's firing. In November 2006, prior to Fessio's booting, AveWatch reported on how Fessio was telling donors that lack of accreditation was part of AMU's "crisis".
According to the article, AMU's VP John "Jack" Sites went on to say, "We’re no longer in the first year... Everyone knows who we are and what we’re about." "
Indeed, we know who Ave Maria is and what the Ave Maria schools are about.
Accreditation Falters Again For AMU
Fri, Nov23, 2007 - Category: University
After fives years operating in Florida, will Ave
Maria University ever be accredited?
The Naples Daily News reported today that, in a meeting earlier this week, the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) decided not to grant AMU final full accreditation and, instead, decided to continue AMU's temporary "pre-accredited" status. The article states that "the decision to extend Ave Maria's temporary accreditation was made because of AALE's uncertain status with the federal Department of Education". AveWatch has been closely reporting on the Bush administration's threat to pull recognition of AALE if it did not resolve long-standing performance problems. AALE's interactions with AMU have been questionable, with the most recent controversy centering on AMU's interest in donating to, and rallying donations for, AALE (all while AMU was under final evaluation by AALE, which was a clear conflict of interest). AveWatch even contacted an AALE Board member about the conflict, but was ignored.
It is unclear how the timing of all this will fully impact students at AMU and at AMU's Latin American Campus in Nicaragua (AMULAC); the Nicaraguan campus is riding on AMU's access to federal funds through AALE accreditation. AMU was supposed to be fully accredited or dumped by AALE at this week's meeting; AMU was supposed to have exhausted all of its opportunities to be on temporary pre-accreditation with AALE. This latest pre-accreditation extension was said to be effective "to the end of the academic year", presumably in May. But what then? According to the Naples Daily News "the AALE was organizing a third-party site visit to Ave Maria in the spring to evaluate the school".
"Third-party site visit"?! What does that mean - a group without any connections to AALE? Why would AALE contract a "third-party" to visit and evaluate AMU on AALE's own standards? What kind of authority does such a third-party have? (After all, the federal government gives authority to AALE, not third-parties contracted by AALE, to make accreditation decisions). Who would comprise this third-party? Was a third-party needed because the AALE team that visited AMU earlier in the year had issues, or was it because of all the questionable contact between AMU and AALE over the years?
Another curious matter is the underlying reason for granting temporary rather than permanent accreditation. The NDN article reports that "The decision to extend Ave Maria’s temporary accreditation was made because of AALE’s uncertain status with the federal Department of Education, Martineau [AALE VP] said. The agency has recommended AALE’s recognition as an institutional accreditor be pulled pending the results of a education department advisory committee meeting next month. [...] 'It seems a bit unfair to have these schools go through this whole process and spend all this money when our status is going to be determined,' Martineau said."
This makes no sense. AMU already "went through this whole process" and spent "all this money" anticipating that it would have a final decision on accreditation at this week's AALE Board meeting. Delaying the decision to fully accredit only introduces AMU and AMULAC students to even more instability and uncertainty. Between now and Spring, many parents decide where to send their child to college, and many students decide if they need to transfer to another school. If AALE does squeak past the Department of Education's December review, what parent or student would be confident about attending a school that is still on temporary accreditation and tied to an accrediting agency living day-to-day? If AALE is dropped as an accrediting agency by the Department of Education, AMU and AMULAC stand to lose access to federal funding. Martineau's statement does not inspire confidence that AALE, the most politically conservative of all accrediting agencies, fixed what needed fixing for the Republican Bush administration.
AveWatch was informed that, earlier this week, a complaint was lodged with the federal Department of Education that AALE is intentionally avoiding public input on the schools that it accredits by violating its own stated policy to announce the institutions under review at least 60 days prior to AALE's decision on each school. This violation is clearly seen in the image below, taken from AALE's website today. By failing to list AMU (or any institution) as a school under review for their November board meeting, AALE clearly avoided the reception of any public input on AMU; thus, AALE did not have to weigh such public input in its accreditation decision on AMU. How convenient. AALE proves time and again that it cannot do what it agrees to do.
The Naples Daily News reported today that, in a meeting earlier this week, the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) decided not to grant AMU final full accreditation and, instead, decided to continue AMU's temporary "pre-accredited" status. The article states that "the decision to extend Ave Maria's temporary accreditation was made because of AALE's uncertain status with the federal Department of Education". AveWatch has been closely reporting on the Bush administration's threat to pull recognition of AALE if it did not resolve long-standing performance problems. AALE's interactions with AMU have been questionable, with the most recent controversy centering on AMU's interest in donating to, and rallying donations for, AALE (all while AMU was under final evaluation by AALE, which was a clear conflict of interest). AveWatch even contacted an AALE Board member about the conflict, but was ignored.
It is unclear how the timing of all this will fully impact students at AMU and at AMU's Latin American Campus in Nicaragua (AMULAC); the Nicaraguan campus is riding on AMU's access to federal funds through AALE accreditation. AMU was supposed to be fully accredited or dumped by AALE at this week's meeting; AMU was supposed to have exhausted all of its opportunities to be on temporary pre-accreditation with AALE. This latest pre-accreditation extension was said to be effective "to the end of the academic year", presumably in May. But what then? According to the Naples Daily News "the AALE was organizing a third-party site visit to Ave Maria in the spring to evaluate the school".
"Third-party site visit"?! What does that mean - a group without any connections to AALE? Why would AALE contract a "third-party" to visit and evaluate AMU on AALE's own standards? What kind of authority does such a third-party have? (After all, the federal government gives authority to AALE, not third-parties contracted by AALE, to make accreditation decisions). Who would comprise this third-party? Was a third-party needed because the AALE team that visited AMU earlier in the year had issues, or was it because of all the questionable contact between AMU and AALE over the years?
Another curious matter is the underlying reason for granting temporary rather than permanent accreditation. The NDN article reports that "The decision to extend Ave Maria’s temporary accreditation was made because of AALE’s uncertain status with the federal Department of Education, Martineau [AALE VP] said. The agency has recommended AALE’s recognition as an institutional accreditor be pulled pending the results of a education department advisory committee meeting next month. [...] 'It seems a bit unfair to have these schools go through this whole process and spend all this money when our status is going to be determined,' Martineau said."
This makes no sense. AMU already "went through this whole process" and spent "all this money" anticipating that it would have a final decision on accreditation at this week's AALE Board meeting. Delaying the decision to fully accredit only introduces AMU and AMULAC students to even more instability and uncertainty. Between now and Spring, many parents decide where to send their child to college, and many students decide if they need to transfer to another school. If AALE does squeak past the Department of Education's December review, what parent or student would be confident about attending a school that is still on temporary accreditation and tied to an accrediting agency living day-to-day? If AALE is dropped as an accrediting agency by the Department of Education, AMU and AMULAC stand to lose access to federal funding. Martineau's statement does not inspire confidence that AALE, the most politically conservative of all accrediting agencies, fixed what needed fixing for the Republican Bush administration.
AveWatch was informed that, earlier this week, a complaint was lodged with the federal Department of Education that AALE is intentionally avoiding public input on the schools that it accredits by violating its own stated policy to announce the institutions under review at least 60 days prior to AALE's decision on each school. This violation is clearly seen in the image below, taken from AALE's website today. By failing to list AMU (or any institution) as a school under review for their November board meeting, AALE clearly avoided the reception of any public input on AMU; thus, AALE did not have to weigh such public input in its accreditation decision on AMU. How convenient. AALE proves time and again that it cannot do what it agrees to do.
Things are not sunny for Tom Monaghan's academic
institutions. AMU and AMULAC will be in a serious
financial and enrollment crisis if it cannot even
maintain temporary accreditation. AMU has a giant
oratory that will not be open for Christmas mass
because, of all things, the local Catholic bishop
continues to refuse to recognize the structure.
Ave Maria Law School is still under investigation
by the ABA for violations of accreditation, has
multiple lawsuits
to deal with, and just bottomed-out on student
bar
exam passage.
AMU Accreditor Still Fumbling
Mon, Oct01, 2007 - Category: University
The American Academy for Liberal Education, Ave Maria
University's lone accrediting agency, seems incapable
of getting its act together.
AveWatch documented AALE's six years of non-compliance with the Department of Education as well as AALE's highly irregular 2004 dealings with AMU President Nick Healy. AveWatch recently asked whether AMU's governance structure violates AALE's standards for independence. We also reported on AMU's offer to financially help AALE with its federal woes in the midst of AALE's accreditation review of AMU, which is a clear COI.
Ave Maria University's second and final bout of temporary accreditation with AALE ends in November 2007. AALE's website states that their next board meeting "has been tentatively scheduled for the week of November 26, 2007. Any programs or colleges to be reviewed at that time will be posted here approximately 60 days before the meeting takes place".
So, why is Ave Maria University not listed for the November meeting? In fact, nobody is listed.
AALE states that it "invites third-party comment regarding the qualifications of applicant institutions". Here's the problem (emphasis added): "third-party comments must be received in writing sixty (60) days prior to the expected date of formal action by the Academy's Board of Trustees, and institutions or programs under review shall have the opportunity to respond in writing to all comments received". How does AALE expect to fulfill this stated "invitation" to entertain public comments if AALE does not even bother to list the institutions under review before the 60 days deadline?
It is little wonder that the Department of Education cited AALE for their inability to execute on their own statements. In December 2005, a Department of Education accreditation subcommittee member said "I can recall during my time on this body no other agency which has so blatantly and arrogantly spurned our requests for information that we are pursuing only in the pursuit of our [the committee's] responsibility." One year later, in 2006, another subcommittee member said "AALE has provided no evidence that it has complied with its own criteria or implemented its policies or reviewed any of the information it received or made any comment at all about what it did receive."
AveWatch is not against AALE. We are for transparency. The liberal arts deserve better than the failed accountability of AALE and AMU.
AveWatch recently contacted Dominic Aquila, who was named Vice Chairman of AALE's Council of Scholars. As a former Ave Maria College employee, we asked Aquila to investigate AMU's offer to donate to AALE in the midst of AMU's own AALE accreditation. Aquila said he was "too busy" to look into the matter. Aquila, however, was not too busy to accept an award in June from NAPCIS (photo below) - an accrediting association for private Catholic grade schools that is now located at AMU, is significantly influenced by Ave Maria Foundation employee Dan Guernsey, and is funded by Tom Monaghan (per IRS 990s, NAPCIS received $174,931 from AMF 2002 to 2005; 2004 = $55,450; 2005 = $51,950). Aquila was "too busy" to even attempt to consider credible evidence of a gross conflict of interest within an organization for which he now serves as a Council Vice Chairman? It reminds us of the Chair of AMU's Board of Regents, Dr. Candace de Russy, who could not even tell AveWatch with certainty if her Board made AMU policy or was simply advisory to Tom Monaghan; she advised us to go ask AMU President Nick Healy. Again, AveWatch is not against Dominic Aquila. We are for non-profit Board and committee members who take their fiduciary duties seriously.
AveWatch documented AALE's six years of non-compliance with the Department of Education as well as AALE's highly irregular 2004 dealings with AMU President Nick Healy. AveWatch recently asked whether AMU's governance structure violates AALE's standards for independence. We also reported on AMU's offer to financially help AALE with its federal woes in the midst of AALE's accreditation review of AMU, which is a clear COI.
Ave Maria University's second and final bout of temporary accreditation with AALE ends in November 2007. AALE's website states that their next board meeting "has been tentatively scheduled for the week of November 26, 2007. Any programs or colleges to be reviewed at that time will be posted here approximately 60 days before the meeting takes place".
So, why is Ave Maria University not listed for the November meeting? In fact, nobody is listed.
AALE states that it "invites third-party comment regarding the qualifications of applicant institutions". Here's the problem (emphasis added): "third-party comments must be received in writing sixty (60) days prior to the expected date of formal action by the Academy's Board of Trustees, and institutions or programs under review shall have the opportunity to respond in writing to all comments received". How does AALE expect to fulfill this stated "invitation" to entertain public comments if AALE does not even bother to list the institutions under review before the 60 days deadline?
It is little wonder that the Department of Education cited AALE for their inability to execute on their own statements. In December 2005, a Department of Education accreditation subcommittee member said "I can recall during my time on this body no other agency which has so blatantly and arrogantly spurned our requests for information that we are pursuing only in the pursuit of our [the committee's] responsibility." One year later, in 2006, another subcommittee member said "AALE has provided no evidence that it has complied with its own criteria or implemented its policies or reviewed any of the information it received or made any comment at all about what it did receive."
AveWatch is not against AALE. We are for transparency. The liberal arts deserve better than the failed accountability of AALE and AMU.
AveWatch recently contacted Dominic Aquila, who was named Vice Chairman of AALE's Council of Scholars. As a former Ave Maria College employee, we asked Aquila to investigate AMU's offer to donate to AALE in the midst of AMU's own AALE accreditation. Aquila said he was "too busy" to look into the matter. Aquila, however, was not too busy to accept an award in June from NAPCIS (photo below) - an accrediting association for private Catholic grade schools that is now located at AMU, is significantly influenced by Ave Maria Foundation employee Dan Guernsey, and is funded by Tom Monaghan (per IRS 990s, NAPCIS received $174,931 from AMF 2002 to 2005; 2004 = $55,450; 2005 = $51,950). Aquila was "too busy" to even attempt to consider credible evidence of a gross conflict of interest within an organization for which he now serves as a Council Vice Chairman? It reminds us of the Chair of AMU's Board of Regents, Dr. Candace de Russy, who could not even tell AveWatch with certainty if her Board made AMU policy or was simply advisory to Tom Monaghan; she advised us to go ask AMU President Nick Healy. Again, AveWatch is not against Dominic Aquila. We are for non-profit Board and committee members who take their fiduciary duties seriously.
Instructions for submitting third party comment to AALE can be found here. We trust that submissions from the public will still be accepted by AALE, lest complaints be filed with the Department of Education.
Catholic Education's Version of The Borg
"Assimilate." The Oxford American Dictionary
definition is "to absorb or integrate and use for
one's own benefit".
Tom Monaghan has done it quite well, laying claim to the careers, sacrifice, and dedicated work of many Catholic educators, staff, and students.
Despite the rising mass of individuals who are now making known their opposition to Monaghan's conflict-laden approach to higher education governance (1,2,3,4,5,6,7...), relative silence is heard in public from conservative Catholic academic circles.
Well, they'd better wake-up before resistance is futile. New evidence shows that Monaghan's tentacles of influence are reaching beyond his Ave Maria "brand". For an examination of that influence, click "More..." below.
Tom Monaghan has done it quite well, laying claim to the careers, sacrifice, and dedicated work of many Catholic educators, staff, and students.
Despite the rising mass of individuals who are now making known their opposition to Monaghan's conflict-laden approach to higher education governance (1,2,3,4,5,6,7...), relative silence is heard in public from conservative Catholic academic circles.
Well, they'd better wake-up before resistance is futile. New evidence shows that Monaghan's tentacles of influence are reaching beyond his Ave Maria "brand". For an examination of that influence, click "More..." below.
Accreditation, Boards, and Conflicts
Wed, Jul25, 2007 - Category: University
The Naples Daily News ran a piece on Monday titled "Ave Maria
remains focused on gaining accreditation." It
took an entire article to simply say that AMU
applied, again, for accreditation from SACS (The
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools).
By AveWatch's count, this is their third
application request to SACS since 2003; the
first two applications were said to have been
pulled after submission (in 2003 and earlier
this year). It makes one wonder if this third
attempt will meet the same fate.
There are at least two things that make this particular 'story' on accreditation curious. Other watchdog websites, besides AW, have also connected accreditation, board structure, and conflicts-of-interest for both AMU and Ave Maria School of Law.More...
There are at least two things that make this particular 'story' on accreditation curious. Other watchdog websites, besides AW, have also connected accreditation, board structure, and conflicts-of-interest for both AMU and Ave Maria School of Law.More...
AveWatch Exposé Makes Front Page!
Fri, May25, 2007 - Category: Miscellaneous
Exposed: DoE Spanks AALE Accreditation
Wed, May23, 2007 - Category: University
AveWatch already reported
on AALE's six year history of non-compliance
with the standards of accountability put forth
by the Department of Education (DOE).
AveWatch now reveals what AALE and AMU neglected to tell the public for the past two months -
AMU's sole accreditor, AALE, had its status as a nationally recognized accrediting agency put on hold ("deferred"), and its scope of abilities limited, until further review by the Department of Education in December 2007. By order of the Secretary of the DOE, new schools that are awarded accreditation by AALE will NOT be eligible for Title IV funding (i.e. federal student loans) until AALE is reviewed for compliance by the DOE.
DOE Secretary Spellings in a March 2007 letter to AALE:
".. I wish to remind you that if the AALE does not [come into full compliance], the Department may be compelled to take action to further limit, suspend, or terminate the AALE’s recognition at or before the December 2007 meeting of the Committee."
The websites of AALE and AMU do not mention any of this, nor have any other public statements on this topic been made by either organization. Are AALE's currently accredited schools even aware of this action by the DOE?
For more details, including the full text of the Secretary's letter, click below.More...
AveWatch now reveals what AALE and AMU neglected to tell the public for the past two months -
AMU's sole accreditor, AALE, had its status as a nationally recognized accrediting agency put on hold ("deferred"), and its scope of abilities limited, until further review by the Department of Education in December 2007. By order of the Secretary of the DOE, new schools that are awarded accreditation by AALE will NOT be eligible for Title IV funding (i.e. federal student loans) until AALE is reviewed for compliance by the DOE.
DOE Secretary Spellings in a March 2007 letter to AALE:
".. I wish to remind you that if the AALE does not [come into full compliance], the Department may be compelled to take action to further limit, suspend, or terminate the AALE’s recognition at or before the December 2007 meeting of the Committee."
The websites of AALE and AMU do not mention any of this, nor have any other public statements on this topic been made by either organization. Are AALE's currently accredited schools even aware of this action by the DOE?
For more details, including the full text of the Secretary's letter, click below.More...
Legal Newspapers Now Watching Ave
Mon, Apr23, 2007 - Category: College
The activities of Tom Monaghan have the attention of
Michigan's legal community, and beyond. Last week's
edition of Michigan Lawyers Weekly
(subscription) covered the case of Kate
Ernsting, a former AMC employee who is seeking
protection under the Whistleblowers Protection Act
(see this
AveWatch article for background). Ernsting
was fired by Monaghan shortly after she provided
the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) with
information requested by the DOE concerning Ave
Maria operations. That investigation ultimately
caught Ave Maria in a financial aid sleight of
hand that was benefiting the start-up Ave Maria
University in Florida. Monaghan was forced to
pay over $250,000 back to the government.
K.L. Bogas, President of the National Employment Lawyers Association:
"The purpose of the WPA is to provide protection to an employee who stands up against the illegal activity of her employer. It takes a lot of courage to do that, so to put up roadblocks in the path of those brave employees, such that they have no job protection, flies in the face of the very purpose of the act."
If Monaghan refuses to allow the merits of Ernsting's wrongful-termination suit to be judged, and instead appeals the recent decision to allow Ernsting to claim protection under the Act, then the Whistleblower debate will garner more headlines as it rises to the Michigan Supreme Court.More...
K.L. Bogas, President of the National Employment Lawyers Association:
"The purpose of the WPA is to provide protection to an employee who stands up against the illegal activity of her employer. It takes a lot of courage to do that, so to put up roadblocks in the path of those brave employees, such that they have no job protection, flies in the face of the very purpose of the act."
If Monaghan refuses to allow the merits of Ernsting's wrongful-termination suit to be judged, and instead appeals the recent decision to allow Ernsting to claim protection under the Act, then the Whistleblower debate will garner more headlines as it rises to the Michigan Supreme Court.More...
Law School Administrators Sweating
Thu, Mar22, 2007 - Category: School of
Law
Contrary to the Feb. 20 statement by AMSL Dean
Bernard Dobranski that "the school isn't under
investigation" (Naples News), a "Fact Finder" from
the American Bar Association has arrived at Ave Maria
School of Law and will be conducting interviews and
reviewing documents today and tomorrow.
The ABA is investigating AMSL for accreditation violations. Months ago, a group of AMSL employees contacted the ABA citing suspected violations. The ABA then contacted AMSL's administration for an explanation. That explanation did not satisfy the ABA; the School administration was unable to "establish that it is operating in compliance with the (ABA) Standards."
Last week, on March 15, Dobranski sent an email to employees and students. In the memo, he said:
Naturally, activities that are affirmatively injurious to the Law School during the course of one's employment at AMSL are not acceptable.
Many in the AMSL community have taken this as a threat to not criticize the closure of the Ann Arbor campus during the ABA Fact Finder's visit. It is reminiscent of a memo sent by Tom Monaghan to College faculty in October 2004 stating that any public criticism of the College Board's decision to close the Michigan campus would be considered "scandal" and, hence, cause for termination. Monaghan has a history of firing employees who report violations of standards or laws to authorities. (Commentary on memo: Fumare)
Click "More..." below for background on the "Fact Finder" dispatched to AMSL, and the full text of Dobranski's March 15 memo.
UPDATE, 3/23/07, 3:15pm - Students from the Law School report the following concerning the Fact Finder's visit:
+ The purpose of his visit was to investigate the faculty's complaint of accreditation standards violations; his purpose was not to assess the institution's request for ABA acquiescence to move to Ave Maria Town.
+ A student offered him a hypothetical scenario involving his own law school - a parallel to AMSL's situation in which a no-confidence vote from a majority of his institution's own faculty was immediately dismissed by his own Board of Governors - and asked if such a situation would likely be a violation of ABA Standards. The Fact-finder replied, "I can't comment [definitively], but that would be a pretty strong case."
+ A report summarizing the conclusions of his visit to AMSL will be filed at the ABA and reviewed in late April or June by the ABA's Accreditation Committee. The Committee may then call the administration before itself to answer questions. If found in violation, the School would be put on probation.More...
The ABA is investigating AMSL for accreditation violations. Months ago, a group of AMSL employees contacted the ABA citing suspected violations. The ABA then contacted AMSL's administration for an explanation. That explanation did not satisfy the ABA; the School administration was unable to "establish that it is operating in compliance with the (ABA) Standards."
Last week, on March 15, Dobranski sent an email to employees and students. In the memo, he said:
Naturally, activities that are affirmatively injurious to the Law School during the course of one's employment at AMSL are not acceptable.
Many in the AMSL community have taken this as a threat to not criticize the closure of the Ann Arbor campus during the ABA Fact Finder's visit. It is reminiscent of a memo sent by Tom Monaghan to College faculty in October 2004 stating that any public criticism of the College Board's decision to close the Michigan campus would be considered "scandal" and, hence, cause for termination. Monaghan has a history of firing employees who report violations of standards or laws to authorities. (Commentary on memo: Fumare)
Click "More..." below for background on the "Fact Finder" dispatched to AMSL, and the full text of Dobranski's March 15 memo.
UPDATE, 3/23/07, 3:15pm - Students from the Law School report the following concerning the Fact Finder's visit:
+ The purpose of his visit was to investigate the faculty's complaint of accreditation standards violations; his purpose was not to assess the institution's request for ABA acquiescence to move to Ave Maria Town.
+ A student offered him a hypothetical scenario involving his own law school - a parallel to AMSL's situation in which a no-confidence vote from a majority of his institution's own faculty was immediately dismissed by his own Board of Governors - and asked if such a situation would likely be a violation of ABA Standards. The Fact-finder replied, "I can't comment [definitively], but that would be a pretty strong case."
+ A report summarizing the conclusions of his visit to AMSL will be filed at the ABA and reviewed in late April or June by the ABA's Accreditation Committee. The Committee may then call the administration before itself to answer questions. If found in violation, the School would be put on probation.More...
AMU's Sole Accreditor in Big Trouble
Fri, Mar09, 2007 - Category: University
Current and prospective students at Ave Maria
University should follow a developing story.
The thread by which AMU's current/future accreditation hangs is now thinner. AMU holds a temporary ("preaccredited") status from one agency, The American Academy of Liberal Education (AALE); that status expires in November 2007 unless AALE awards full accreditation to AMU.
Things may snap sooner. At the December 2006 meeting of a Department of Education (DOE) subcommittee, AALE's petition to renew their own standing as an accreditor with Title IV authority was delayed pending a re-evaluation in May. In addition, the subcommittee "then recommended a provisio that the Secretary [of the DOE] not recognize schools that the Academy [AALE] might accredit during this six month window for the purposes of Title IV eligibility." A decision from the Secretary is pending.
AALE has a long history of problems with the DOE that center around "a lackadaisical approach to compliance" on issues like measuring student achievement and "failing in its mission of ensuring quality control".
As AMU's sole accreditor, failure of AALE would disqualify AMU from being able to offer federal financial aid to students. AMU does not appear to have a 'back-up' accreditor since, as of December 2006, AMU did not even have an application submitted to its regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
It is unclear how loss of accreditation would impact AMU's contractual relationship with Barron-Collier company since the two are real estate partners in the Ave Maria Town development. This is also potentially important to Ave Maria School of Law which is closing in Michigan and moving to AMU's campus to benefit from AMU's anticipated real-estate profits. But will the profits come if AMU fails to be fully accredited? Further, if AMU ends-up diverting money to overcome a shortfall in federal aid, how would AMSL be impacted?More...
The thread by which AMU's current/future accreditation hangs is now thinner. AMU holds a temporary ("preaccredited") status from one agency, The American Academy of Liberal Education (AALE); that status expires in November 2007 unless AALE awards full accreditation to AMU.
Things may snap sooner. At the December 2006 meeting of a Department of Education (DOE) subcommittee, AALE's petition to renew their own standing as an accreditor with Title IV authority was delayed pending a re-evaluation in May. In addition, the subcommittee "then recommended a provisio that the Secretary [of the DOE] not recognize schools that the Academy [AALE] might accredit during this six month window for the purposes of Title IV eligibility." A decision from the Secretary is pending.
AALE has a long history of problems with the DOE that center around "a lackadaisical approach to compliance" on issues like measuring student achievement and "failing in its mission of ensuring quality control".
As AMU's sole accreditor, failure of AALE would disqualify AMU from being able to offer federal financial aid to students. AMU does not appear to have a 'back-up' accreditor since, as of December 2006, AMU did not even have an application submitted to its regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
It is unclear how loss of accreditation would impact AMU's contractual relationship with Barron-Collier company since the two are real estate partners in the Ave Maria Town development. This is also potentially important to Ave Maria School of Law which is closing in Michigan and moving to AMU's campus to benefit from AMU's anticipated real-estate profits. But will the profits come if AMU fails to be fully accredited? Further, if AMU ends-up diverting money to overcome a shortfall in federal aid, how would AMSL be impacted?More...
"Fact Finding" Not An "Investigation"?
Tue, Feb20, 2007 - Category: School of
Law
[emphasis added; comments in brackets]
Feb. 20, 2007 - Naples Daily News
"Dobranski [AMSL Dean] said the school of law isn’t under investigation."
Dec. 15, 2006 - memo from Dobranski to "The Law School Community"
"Since many facts are in dispute, the ABA has understandably decided to send a "Fact Finder" to the law school to gather additional information regarding these disputed matters."
[Not under investigation? Contacts at the American Bar Association have declined comment.]
***UPDATE, 2/21 - MORE CONTRADICTIONS***
Feb. 21, 2007 - Chronicle of Higher Education
"Bernard Dobranski, the law school’s president and dean, said in an interview that its Board of Governors had decided on the move after five years of discussing its options."
[discussing the option for 5 years]
Sept. 9, 2004 - Dobranski memo to the American Bar Association
"the only decision made to this point" by the board was its September 2003 decision "to not move to the Florida campus."
"the decision of the board was not to relocate. It was not a complete and final rejection of a possible move, but one which concluded that at that time, and for the immediate future, such a move would not be appropriate. ... No discussion is planned for the foreseeable future."
[So, you were not "discussing" the move in 2004, 3 years ago?]
Jan. 30, 2006 - Naples News - Headline: "Ave Maria law not planning move to Collier campus"
" "There are currently no plans to move to Naples," said Dobranski, the school's dean. "But with that said, we will have to seriously consider it, and we will more likely be doing that sooner, rather than later." "
[will have to? will be doing? So, you were not yet considering the move in 2006, one year ago?]
Feb. 20, 2007 - Naples Daily News
"Dobranski [AMSL Dean] said the school of law isn’t under investigation."
Dec. 15, 2006 - memo from Dobranski to "The Law School Community"
"Since many facts are in dispute, the ABA has understandably decided to send a "Fact Finder" to the law school to gather additional information regarding these disputed matters."
[Not under investigation? Contacts at the American Bar Association have declined comment.]
***UPDATE, 2/21 - MORE CONTRADICTIONS***
Feb. 21, 2007 - Chronicle of Higher Education
"Bernard Dobranski, the law school’s president and dean, said in an interview that its Board of Governors had decided on the move after five years of discussing its options."
[discussing the option for 5 years]
Sept. 9, 2004 - Dobranski memo to the American Bar Association
"the only decision made to this point" by the board was its September 2003 decision "to not move to the Florida campus."
"the decision of the board was not to relocate. It was not a complete and final rejection of a possible move, but one which concluded that at that time, and for the immediate future, such a move would not be appropriate. ... No discussion is planned for the foreseeable future."
[So, you were not "discussing" the move in 2004, 3 years ago?]
Jan. 30, 2006 - Naples News - Headline: "Ave Maria law not planning move to Collier campus"
" "There are currently no plans to move to Naples," said Dobranski, the school's dean. "But with that said, we will have to seriously consider it, and we will more likely be doing that sooner, rather than later." "
[will have to? will be doing? So, you were not yet considering the move in 2006, one year ago?]
AMU Now "Unaccredited", Near "Crisis"
Sun, Nov12, 2006 - Category: University
Either AMU had a change in its accreditation status
(and thereby lost its ability to offer federal aid to
students), or Fr. Fessio is not telling the truth to
donors.
WhoseAMSOL first reported on an October 2006 fundraising letter sent by Fr. Joseph Fessio, AMU Provost. In the letter, Fessio admits that "problems" are near "crisis" level at AMU - students are leaving, the institution is unable to attract high-quality paying students, the project is over budget, and that "we (AMU) are presently a rather small and unaccredited institution.."
Unaccredited? In November 2004, the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) granted AMU "preaccreditation" status through November 2007. This entitled the paying AMU students to federal-aid and help with their $22,500/year fees. As of November 11, 2006, AALE's website confirmed AMU's "preaccredited" status, as did an Avewatch reader who contacted AALE. Surely, Fr. Fessio knows that "preaccredited" and "unaccredited" are quite different states.More...
WhoseAMSOL first reported on an October 2006 fundraising letter sent by Fr. Joseph Fessio, AMU Provost. In the letter, Fessio admits that "problems" are near "crisis" level at AMU - students are leaving, the institution is unable to attract high-quality paying students, the project is over budget, and that "we (AMU) are presently a rather small and unaccredited institution.."
Unaccredited? In November 2004, the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) granted AMU "preaccreditation" status through November 2007. This entitled the paying AMU students to federal-aid and help with their $22,500/year fees. As of November 11, 2006, AALE's website confirmed AMU's "preaccredited" status, as did an Avewatch reader who contacted AALE. Surely, Fr. Fessio knows that "preaccredited" and "unaccredited" are quite different states.More...
Dean's authority
Sat, Aug19, 2006 - Category: School of
Law
The ABA requires that a law school Dean have the
support of a majority of faculty. Is that true for
AMSL?More...