Bluefield State University under Higher Learning Commission scrutiny

Nov. 28—BLUEFIELD — Bluefield State University is facing scrutiny from the Higher Learning Commission over its policies and procedures and university officials have been asked to appear before an Institutional Actions Council hearing next year.

That meeting will be held March 11-12 in Chicago, and stems from the findings of a highly critical report from a Higher Learning Commission review team that visited the Bluefield State University campus this past September.

The Higher Learning Commission accredits colleges and universities across the United States. In the report, the review team focused on potential concerns at Bluefield State University as it relates to "policies and processes to ensure fair and ethical behavior on the part of its governing board, administration and staff."

The Higher Learning Commission report includes a laundry list of concerns from the review team.

According to the report, the original purpose of the focused visit was to gather information on the university's ongoing compliance with Core Company 2.A, or the "policies and processes" that ensure fair behavior. However, the report said that while the visit team was on the Bluefield State University campus, they uncovered numerous areas of concern related to six additional core components.

At the time of the review team's site visit, Bluefield State University was led by President Robin Capehart. The university announced on Nov. 2 that Capehart was retiring as president of the institution. During that earlier announcement, the university said Capehart's retirement would be effective on Dec. 31 and that he would assist in the transition of responsibilities to an acting president.

On Nov. 21, the university announced the appointment of alumnus Dr. Darrin Martin as its interim president.

Issues identified in the Higher Learning Commission report include:

—The report said the university president and board of governors did not operate with integrity in several academic and human resource functions, including the hiring process. It said on August 4, 2022, policy was changed to include a provision that allowed the president to hire into any position without a formal search process.

—The report said on Nov. 3 the board of governors voted to disestablish the faculty senate. The report said the move was done despite widespread disapproval by the faculty, including a campus-wide faculty vote on Oct. 28, 2022.

—The report said the elimination of the faculty senate caused the elimination of all formal standing committees, including committees that oversee curriculum, program review and promotion and tenure review at the university level.

—The report said the staff council had not met for more than two years. Therefore, the report found, there was no shared governance voice for the university staff.

—The report said the board and president rarely communicated with faculty on matters of interest such as the curriculum, faculty hiring processes and post-tenure review.

—The report said the visit team was provided numerous examples of the board not considering reasonable and constructive input from the faculty in decision-making relative to academic and personnel policies.

—The report said the university does not currently have effective processes for shared governance for either faculty or staff and that faculty are not provided opportunity for oversight of the curriculum.

—The report said that during the on-campus meetings with the visit teams, an individual appeared to be recording those conversations. The individual was instructed by the review team to turn off the phone, according to the report.

—The report also says that participants in the site-campus meetings were "very emotionally charged, often near tears, as they answered questions and described their situation." The report says in one meeting, a conflict between individuals occurred in front of the visit team.

Charlie Cole, chairman of the university board of governors, said the board has taken immediate steps to address the concerns in the Higher Learning Commission report. This includes appointing Martin, a three-generation Bluefield State graduate, as interim university president; working to improve communications with staff and shared governance; and the hiring of a consultant to guide Bluefield State University through the changes that need to be made to address the concerns raised by the Higher Learning Commission.

"One thing we will be working to do a better job on is communication among the faculty and staff," Cole said. "Dr. Martin is already doing that. One of the first things he did as interim president is send a copy of this report to the entire Bluefield State community. He will be meeting with our staff tentatively on Friday. So we are all over it. We know that we need to do a better job of basically shared governance. The one thing that I think is extremely positive is everybody from the board of governors to faculty to the staff and the administration are all extremely passionate about Bluefield State and the success of Bluefield State."

Cole said representatives of Bluefield State University will travel to Chicago in March to show the Higher Learning Commission what steps have been taken to address their concerns.

"I have every belief the actions we will take now leading up to March 11 and after that will all be positive and will address their concerns," Cole said. "Bluefield State has hired a consultant to help us navigate through what changes we need to make."

Cole said the consultant, Carolyn Long, had worked for several years as chairman of the West Virginia University board of governors, and also served as president of West Virginia Tech.

Cole said the report is a "serious matter," but that Bluefield State University's accreditation status won't be effected because university officials are working now to address all of the concerns of the Higher Learning Commission.

"We will come out on the other side as a better university for having this report," Cole said. "None of us like getting a report. Nobody likes to read negative things about what they are very close to. It has been humbling. But our board has been up to the task to ensure Bluefield State's success for the next 100 years."

"The Board of Governors and I are committed to the success of the students, faculty, and staff at Bluefield State University," Martin, the interim president, said. "We value our faculty and staff and the contributions they make in preparing our students for their endeavors. At present, we are preparing our response to the Higher Learning Commission's report. As part of this process, we are reviewing current policies and practices that triggered the HLC visit. The Board of Governors and I take the report seriously and will make the changes necessary to be in compliance with HLC standards. More importantly, we will strive to create a collaborative culture where our students, faculty, and staff can thrive."

Capehart was unavailable for comment Monday.

Laura Janota, a public information officer with the Higher Learning Commission, said the commission's review of the institution as related to the focused visit that took place in September is ongoing and the institution remains accredited during the review process.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens