Montpelier, VT – On September 18, 2012, Union Institute & University (UI&U) President Roger H. Sublett, Ph.D. announced several changes to the university’s operation at the Montpelier Academic Center. The actions are a result of the changing landscape for higher education and the university’s long-range planning process to better position the university as it nears its 50th anniversary in 2014.
“As we approach our 50th anniversary, and as part of our strategic plan, we are looking very closely to identify programs that strengthen the university, and also scrutinize where we can make improvements, consolidate, and take other measures to increase and stabilize our enrollment, improve our offerings, and be more responsive to the market demand,” the President told staff and faculty at the Montpelier Center. “This is a time for creativity, innovation, and for bold moves across the entire university,” he said.
Responding to an increasing need by students for more flexibility and more affordable options, the university’s low residency B.A. Weekend program will be consolidated into the existing B.A. online option, a program that has seen steady improvement. The Montpelier location currently has about 30 students in the residency program and 80 online students. For students wanting a face-to-face low residency option, the B.A. Weekend program, located out of the university’s Brattleboro Academic Center, will continue to enroll students. Bachelor of Science programs with majors in Business Administration, Business Management, Maternal Child Health: Lactation Consulting, and Leadership will continue to be offered online.
With these moves, at the end of its lease with the Vermont College of Fine Arts in June 2013, UI&U will close its operation in Montpelier and consolidate its Vermont programs in Brattleboro, where it will administer the Doctor of Psychology, the Master of Arts with a concentration in Counseling Psychology, and the B.A. Weekend programs. Management of the B.A. program will move to Cincinnati, the university’s national headquarters, along with the administration of the online Master of Arts program. Faculty will not be affected as they will continue to teach online across the university and can participate in the Brattleboro weekend option. During the next several months and into next year, the university will transition a number of staff positions. It is estimated that approximately 15 staff positions will be impacted and most of these jobs will be moved to Brattleboro or Cincinnati. Three program adviser positions will not be filled.
Union Institute & University is a non-profit, accredited, private university specializing in adult and distance education since 1964. Union strives to engage, enlighten, and empower students in a lifetime of learning and service. The university’s transformational and socially relevant programs promote creative and critical thinking, and connect scholarship with real-world practice. Flexible online classes, brief residencies, classroom experiences, and hybrid models of instruction lead to undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Union graduates, including 14 college presidents, leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, members of the United States Congress, and the first female prime minister of Jamaica, promote Union’s legacy of utilizing education to transform lives and communities.
