Green Mountain College Announces Closure Following the Completion of the Spring Semester; Partnership with Prescott College in Arizona Continues Green Mountain’s Legacy

Green Mountain College (GMC) announced today that its trustees voted to
close the college following commencement in May. The announcement was
made at an all-college meeting.

With the college age population decline in Vermont and New England over
the past decade projected to continue, there has been an associated
decline in enrollment. At the same time, the costs of providing the
quality education that GMC students want and deserve have remained
stable or have increased. That combination of a decrease in tuition
payments and an increase in the costs of providing unique programming
have overstrained GMC finances.

Prescott College in Arizona will hire some Green Mountain faculty; house
all of Green Mountain’s academic records; provide opportunities for
Green Mountain students to complete their degrees, and create a center,
school, or institute that carries on the Green Mountain name. The two
colleges share a mission and are founding members of the EcoLeague
consortium of environmentally focused colleges.

The decision to close and partner with Prescott was only finalized after
all options were fully investigated and the pros and cons of each path
carefully evaluated over several months.

“Our efforts to maintain the Poultney campus as the site where
Green Mountain’s unique programs would continue to be delivered did not
cease when students left for the semester break a month ago. In fact,
efforts were redoubled to find a solution but we have reached the point
that continued pursuit of these strategies is narrowing the options
available for all students, faculty and staff,” said Green
Mountain College President Robert Allen.

Over the past 18 months, the administration and college trustees
investigated a wide range of options available to insure the
continuation of its mission, including potential ways to decrease costs
and increase revenues. The GMC administration met with potential
partners both in and out-of-state and strategic alliances were explored
with other institutions that share the same values as the college and
that have a complementary curriculum to the GMC.

Several options were still under consideration as recently as last week;
however, the college was unable to find a financial solution, or secure
a partnership that would enable the GMC-Poultney campus to continue
operations beyond the Spring semester. The GMC-Poultney campus will
wind-down all operations in Vermont after commencement in May.

“If we could not remain here in Poultney, our goals had been to
find an institution that had already committed to a sustainability
curriculum, had a similar small college feel, would continue the Green
Mountain legacy, be committed to ensuring that there would be little or
no direct financial or academic impact on our students and, despite the
notable change in geography and in climate, would provide for as smooth
of a transition as possible for students,” added Allen.

The partnership with Prescott and the teach-out agreements with the
seven (7) other colleges are subject to the approval of The New England
Commission of Higher Education and The Higher Education Commission.

The college will be conducting separate Q and A sessions for faculty,
staff, and students. It will be staffed by college personnel who are
best equipped to answer the many questions that result from today’s
announcement. In addition, over the next two days the college will be
holding separate call-in opportunities for parents, alumni and graduate
students.

Not all positions will continue to the end of the semester. In
coordination with State of Vermont Department of Labor, we will be
scheduling job fairs on campus. In addition, several trustees and other
individuals connected to the College have volunteered to assist staff in
finding new jobs. Each staff member will be notified of the current plan
for their position in the next week.

Green Mountain College is committed to helping students, faculty and
staff transition to their next opportunity. The GMC administration and
trustees will devote their full attention to this effort.

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