Mid-State didn't meet standards
Money requirements, faculty rating cited
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA — Mid-State College closed Friday because the school failed a range of standards set by its accreditation agency, including finance requirements and faculty evaluation, a Maine education department official said Wednesday.
But at least three schools will absorb students stranded by Mid-State, said a lawyer representing the college.
The Washington D.C.-based Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools was tight-lipped Wednesday about why it refused to renew Mid-State's accreditation, but said that Mid-State chose to shut rather than appeal the council's ruling.
Mid-State's closure drew resentment from some would-be students.
"I was mad," said Mary Butman, a clerk in Augusta's Office of Vital Records. "I signed up for an associate degree as an administrative assistant. I went in on Aug. 14 and they charged my account for $25. They should have known things weren't stable, and they shouldn't be taking non-refundable deposits."
Mid-State closed because it lost access to federal funds that depend on accreditation. The school, which boasts a 136-year pedigree and had two campuses at Augusta and Auburn, will file for bankruptcy, said Andrew Cadot, the lawyer representing the college.
"A letter will be going out to students by Friday or Tuesday on what colleges will accept their credits," Cadot said. "It's going to be at least three. That's being worked on."
Cadot said he cannot disclose the schools' names until they sign federal "teach-out" agreements, which obliges these schools "to be liberal in the transfer of credits."
But the University of Maine at Augusta, Thomas College in Waterville and Andover College in Portland appear to be white knights.
"I'm going to try and get into Thomas College, because they are waiving a lot of stuff (required of students forced to transfer) from Mid-State, like application fees and letters of recommendation," said Butman, who is 43. "They're going out of their way to help."
The University of Maine at Augusta said in a news release Wednesday that it will waive application fees and offer special payment deferrals to help former Mid-State students. The university is holding information sessions on Friday at 1 p.m. at Robinson Hall on the Augusta campus, and at 2 p.m. that day in UMA's offices at Lewiston-Auburn College.
Cadot added that Mid-State's funding will be audited. "If refunds (to students) are due, then that will be dealt with," he said.
Cadot, who is with the Portland firm of Perkins, Thompson, Hinckley and Keddy, said he was hired to handle Mid-State's liquidation, but believed that Mid-State did not expect to close.
"The school had the understanding that there was a number of issues, but there would be a probation period, and they would continue to work on it," he said. "They thought there was a 5 percent chance of closing down, 80 to 90 percent of continuing."
But the accreditation council disagreed.
"The council on Aug. 19 sent a letter to Mid-State indicating that it was acting to deny accreditation," said its chief of staff, Robert Patterson. "That doesn't constitute an immediate loss of accreditation. In the same letter, Mid-State was advised of the right of appeal. The time for deciding to appeal has not yet run. The appeal window was Oct. 31, 2003. The decision to close was wholly the institution's."
The council officially revoked Mid-State's accreditation on Tuesday, "because we learned the institution had been closed," said Patterson.
Patterson declined to elaborate on what standards Mid-State failed, apart from saying that "there were a myriad of issues that the institution faced, educationally and financially."
Maine education officials gave a better clue.
"The council has a number of standards they expect to be met," said Harry Osgood, a higher education specialist. "They would center around academic records, libraries, buildings, evaluations of faculty, finances and use of technology.
"They really look at everything," he said. "Suffice to say, across most of these areas, there were concerns of an order high enough for the evaluation team not to make the recommendation to renew accreditation."
Mid-State's closure ends an institution that grew out of post-Civil War needs, and has survived two world wars. As politics and the publishing industry took off in the late 1860s, Mid-State was a response to the demand for more secretarial and clerical skills. It played a supporting role in pushing Maine women out of households and into the working world.
"We lost a lot of the male population base in the Civil War," said Dan Stevens, a history buff who works with the Maine Education Association. "The state required clerks and people to do things. It was OK for (women) to be secretaries or clerks. During the first and second world wars, a lot of jobs taken by men were left open. More women evolved out of the household and gradually worked into (schools like Mid-State)."
The school has gone through a number of transformations over the years and was originally known as Dirigo Business College when it opened in 1867. It was later known as Shaw Business College, Maine School of Commerce and Augusta School of Business, among other names.
Chuin-Wei Yap — 623-3811, Ext. 433
ychuin@centralmaine.com