University of Arts’ accreditor says the school’s abrupt closure is ‘terribly frustrating’

University of the Arts leaders have failed to meet deadlines and provide complete information about the cash flow issues that led to the school’s abrupt closure, officials from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education said Wednesday night.

“Our commission does and can help institutions close well and with integrity; however, we cannot do it with a day’s or week’s notice,” Heather F. Perfetti, Middle States president, said in a statement. “It is critical that institutions and any attorneys and consultants working with them understand the expectations of this Commission. This is terribly frustrating for everyone involved but especially our students.”

University of the Arts on May 29 notified Middle States, its accrediting agency, that it would close June 7, because of an unspecified cash flow problem. Middle States then took the unusually quick step of immediately revoking accreditation because the university was out of compliance on several areas.

But, Middle States officials emphasized in a statement, it was not the agency that triggered the closure. And although University of the Arts president Kerry Walk and board chair Judson Aaron initially said that Middle States made the news of the closure public before the university could inform staff and students, the commission informed University of the Arts that they would make the closure public on May 31, and advised the school to tell its community in advance.

When university officials informed Middle States of the impending closure, the commission demanded extensive information about when and how the school learned of the cash flow problem, evidence of the university’s ability to meet current and future payroll, evidence of notification to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and U.S. Department of Education, and more.

University of the Arts missed its deadline, “and the information received was insufficient,” Middle States said.

Middle States has set a Friday deadline for the university to submit a “teach-out plan” and signed agreements with partner institutions “to provide for equitable treatment of students to complete their education or transfer to another institution,” the commission said. “The teach-out plan must also designate a final repository for the institution’s records, including, but not limited to, student transcripts.”

Colleges and universities that might partner with University of the Arts will meet with Middle States on Thursday; the organization said “many institutions” had reached out to it already, and more are welcome.