Virginia University of Lynchburg Accreditation on Warning

I'm surprised the controversy surrounding Coach Tim Newman and VUL's mistreatment of football players was not mentioned.

 

I'll repeat what I said on the other forum. Many universities have survived probation, but considering that VUL is small, has financial issues and poor administration, and I think they previously lost regional accreditation, I wouldn't start a DHA there. The DHCA at Oklahoma State University is affordable, regionally accredited, and it has an actual healthcare administration curriculum taught by people with healthcare administration and clinical backgrounds. I question TRACS letting VUL call this a healthcare administration degree. It should have been a generic leadership, administration, or management degree.

 

Someone at Degree Forum noted that they couldn't find any evidence that VUL was ever regionally accredited. I can't either. I've just heard people say they were. VUL was accredited by TRACS in 2005 and wasn't designated as an HBCU until 2011. Their history from the Jim Crow era shows that they were licensed by the State of Virginia whereas other HBCUs I'm aware of were accredited. VUL's history is strange.

VUL is a former seminary with current religious accreditation, but the vast majority of their current graduates are from the DHA program. A member of Degree Forum said that his graduation had graduates in the single digits in the non-DHA programs, but the DHA had 150 graduates.

 

I question TRACS (and ABHE or any other primarily religion accreditor) accrediting non-religion programs.

 

Below are some of my findings on VUL's president, who earned a self-designed PhD at Union Institute and University. I'm just copying and pasting what I posted on Degree Forum.

This comment was made on this article in 2016.

https://jbhe.com/2016/04/the-new-president-of-virginia-university-of-lynchburg/

"I have always been proud of the history of VUL. However, I feel that this appointment is not for the good of the institution. Dr. Franklin has served in numerous capacities, and sadly has executed a level of nepotism as it relates to hiring practices that is most unprofessional and unethical. It is a public knowledge that her boyfriend was hired as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness prior to having earned a bachelors degree, and is by all means unqualified for such a position. Furthermore, numerous members of her family have been hired without appropriate experience or credentials for the positions in which they hold. There is has been severe mismanagement of funds, even federal funds. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the institution, faculty teach in areas in which they are not qualified, degrees conferred without standards being met. Yes it is true, this is a historic appointment, but it is a disgrace to a history that has produced some of the greatest educators, ministers, missionaries, and public servants, particularly African-American, that this nation has ever seen."


This is getting juicy. Here's an article from 2017. Students wanted the president to step down, and she was accused of using school funds as her personal bank account.

https://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Students-in-Lynchburg-raise-concern-over-school-president-457555583.html


There is more! The current president was provost prior to getting promoted to president in 2016. People were calling for her to be fired in 2013. Several years prior to 2013, VUL had been under federal investigation. They also hired a coach and a director who had convictions and charges for violent crimes. The director appears to be the same man the commenter above said was the president's boyfriend. A common theme is accusations of mismanagement of funds and theft. VUL was put on probation in 2013. This is twice that they've been put on probation under the leadership of Dr. Franklin. She needs to be fired.

https://wset.com/archive/vuls-president-speaks-about-embattled-university

Side note: When I warned VUL students on social media about the limitations of national accreditation, the president called me and asked, "Is there a problem?" That is unhinged. One of the school's students gave her my information.

 

Number of members of this board to have received a phone call from the president of a Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia complaining about their commentary:

2, sanantone from Kathy Franklin of VUL and Steve Levicoff from Jerry Falwell Sr. of Liberty.

 

So, one Union Institute and University PhD in Educational Leadership rode a venerable institution of higher education (Burlington College) into the ground and out of existence (Bernie Sanders wife Jane). And as I understand from what you posted, another PhD in Educational Administration from Union Institute and University is riding this institution (VUL) into the ground.

The leadership of Union Institute and University is riding it out of existence.

There is an unfortunate pattern with Union Institute PhDs in Education that attempt to run institutions of higher education and with Union itself. Yikes.

 

To be fair, the people running Union into the ground didn't earn their degrees there, but it does make one wonder about the quality of an educational leadership or administration program at Union when the university has struggled for decades. LOL

 

Union is circling the drain isn't it.

Kind of reminiscent of Columbia Pacific University where it had an innovative beginning and a not so auspicious end.

I believe there were previous quality questions along the way and of course some graduates in high level leadership positions that were not performing apparently.

I wonder if alumni can sue for the management of the educational entity and embarrassment. Has that been done?

Are taxpayers on the hook for loans for underperforming degrees?

 

If their education or business professors know better, then should hire them to run the school.

Union Institute has not held classes for undergraduate students this fall due to a lack of money and staff. Some students in the school's graduate and Ph.D. programs have been able to continue working on their degrees because all communication with instructors happens online. Still, based on this information, the Department of Education says due to widespread resignations among faculty and in its business office, Union has stopped providing many, if not all, the educational services and instruction promised to students.

https://www.wvxu.org/education/2023-11-29/union-institute-loses-federal-aid-fined-millions

 

If Union closes, taxpayers could be on the hook for their student loans, especially if Biden is still in office. Union's current problems are financial. In the past, their unique, student-centric model was scrutinized for quality, but they did away with that.

 

I blame Dr. Franklin's mismanagement. A video blogger has two videos on VUL, this is the latest one:

 

They have a 27% graduation rate. They should drop all sports; they can't afford them.

 

Maybe they should focus on getting students into their undergraduate and other graduate programs rather than admitting students to the Doctor of Healthcare Administration program. TRACS should require an admission freeze for the DHA program until the school can boost the other programs, provide the required audits, and create some type of leadership accountability measures. It is sad to attend a graduation and there are over 150 DHA graduates and only a like 7 undergraduate students and 2 master level students for graduation. no other institution in the United States from my knowledge has more doctoral students than its undergraduate and graduate program students.

 

The DHA may be a good program and may be a cash generator for them but indeed if the reputation of the school is damaged it is going to help recruit people into that program. It may be nice to say you earned your doctorate from a historically black college founded in 18 something but if its name is in the media for all the wrong reasons and struggling with its accreditor that would definitely outweigh any other benefit in my mind. What a shame. In this thread we have highlighted more than one case of schools being mismanaged by Administration with doctorates.

You can have a doctorate but it doesn't make you a leader, it doesn't make you competent, and it doesn't guarantee you have EQ. You can have a PhD in leadership and be inept in leadership and inept as a person.

 

and there is this....SURVIVING: Virginia University of Lynchburg "THE BISHOP-SYCAMORE OF COLLEGE "| Offscript Live (youtube.com)

 

I will say this, and I have no idea about this school, watching this video is disturbing. I worry about the academics. (if what this gentleman is saying is true and I have no reason why he would be making this up). My goodness gracious. I have no idea why my alma mater (North Carolina Central University) plays VUL. I saw signs for the school when I was in Lynchburg earlier this month.

 

VUL offers their team up to Division 1 schools. Easy win / scrimmage games for D1 schools