December 3, 1997

Dr. Barbara Mossberg
President Goddard College
Plainfield, VT 05667

Dear President Mossberg:

At its meeting on November 7, 1997, the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education considered the fifth-year interim report submitted by Goddard College and took the following action:

that the fifth-year interim report of Goddard College be accepted;

that the College submit an Annual Report on Finance and Enrollment (ARFE) on December 1, 1999 for consideration in Spring, 2000;

that in addition to providing information included in all ARFE reports, the College give emphasis to achieving enrollment and financial stability with specific focus on the relationship among financial aid, enrollment and net tuition revenues, improvement in fundraising, and implementation of the facility improvement plan;

that the comprehensive evaluation scheduled for Fall, 2002, be confirmed;

that the self-study to be prepared for the comprehensive evaluation give particular attention to the institution's continued success in undertaking academic program planning and program assessment; implementing effective campus governance processes; maintaining fiscal stability; and improving campus facilities.

modest operating surpluses in recent years. Such budgeting has produced positive fund balance and cash reserves which were recently used to eliminate all long-term debts. We take favorable cognizance of the fact that the College has begun to address its deferred maintenance, has completed a requested physical inventory, and has developed a multi-year plan to address known deferred maintenance needs with more ambitious goals in the later years of the plan.

The areas identified for emphasis in the December, 1999, ARFE report are related to our standards on Physical Resources and Financial Resources. In addition to more generally wishing to monitor the institution's financial well-being through the 1999 report, as you know, the maintenance of the campus has been a concern to the Commission in the past. Although we recognize that the College has developed a facility plan, we wish to become apprised of the progress the College has made in moving aspects of the facility plan forward, as resources permit, in keeping with the standard on Physical Resources. We are pleased to learn that the actions taken so far by the College have enhanced the institution's financial stability. At the same time, however, we remain concerned that, since the institution is primarily dependent upon student tuition for its support, the institution can build enrollment along with increasing net tuition revenues. Through the 1999 report we wish to review the College's continuing success in increasing the institution's financial stability with particular attention to financial aid as it relates to enrollment and net tuition revenues and improvement in fundraising, matters directly related to the standard on Financial Resources (9.1-9.2).

Confirmation of a comprehensive evaluation in Fall, 2002, is consistent with Commission policy requiring each accredited institution to undergo a comprehensive visit at least once every ten years. The College's last such visit took place in Fall, 1992.

The areas to be considered in the self-study for Fall, 2002, are related to our standards on Planning and Evaluation, Organization and Governance, Financial Resources and Physical Resources. In the institution's comprehensive report, the Commission looks forward to learning about progress the institution has made in improving the College's academic programs and planning in response to data gathered through its ongoing assessment of student learning and student satisfaction as demonstrated in portfolio assessments, final theses, and program evaluations, a matter directly related to our standard on Planning and Evaluation. Further, we wish to become apprised of the institution's continuing success in implementing its comprehensive governance plan, a plan that reflects a more stable and effective governance system, a matter related to our standard on Organization and Governance. In the institution's self-study we also wish to learn about further steps the institution has taken to increase its financial stability (Financial Resources), building on the improvements described in the interim report, such as increased enrollment coupled with more conservative budget management, the development of a more efficient administrative structure and more cost-effective and productive uses of faculty time. We also wish to learn about the status of campus facilities improvements currently identified in the facility plan (Physical Resources).

You are encouraged to share this letter with members of the College community. It is Commission policy to inform the chairperson of the institution's governing board of action on requested reports. In a few days we will be sending a copy of this letter to Mr. Paul Blanc. The institution is free to release information about the report and the Commission's action to others, in accordance with Commission policy.

The Commission appreciates your cooperation in the effort to provide public assurance of the quality of higher education in New England and hopes that the efforts made at continuing selfevaluation will contribute to the institution's self-improvement.

Please contact Charles M. Cook, Director of the Commission, should you have any questions regarding the Commission's action on your report.

Sincerely,

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