The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the accreditation body for Paul Smith’s College, has asked the institution to submit a “teach-out plan” for student relocation should the college cease operations or programs.
This unusual request follows the financially challenged college’s proposal to be acquired by The Fedcap Group, and comes in the wake of a cyberattack against the college. A teach-out plan outlines arrangements with another institution to allow students to complete their programs if their original institution closes.
Despite this, Paul Smith’s Chief of Staff Nicole Feml asserts that the college has no plans to close and that the teach-out plan is a precautionary measure necessitated by the cyberattack.
The request for a teach-out plan came after the Middle States Commission deemed Paul Smith’s application to be acquired by Fedcap as incomplete, forcing the college to restart the review process.
The commission’s request for a teach-out plan is separate from the Fedcap acquisition process. Despite these hurdles, Fedcap President Christine McMahon remains highly motivated to acquire Paul Smith’s, seeing higher education as a vital pathway to economic well-being. This comes as many small private colleges, like Paul Smith’s, are struggling in the current competitive educational landscape.
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