Hush: Accreditor told AIB to stop public statements

IOWA CITY — More than two weeks after AIB College of Business announced plans to close and donate its Des Moines-based campus to the University of Iowa, an accrediting agency sent a letter 'about an urgent matter.'

The Higher Learning Commission, an accrediting agency for about 1,000 colleges and universities in a 19-state region, became aware of the deal 'from media reports' and institution representatives, according to a Feb. 11 letter from commission President Barbara Gellman-Danley.

'When an institution closes its doors, there are a number of commission policies that might be implicated,' she wrote in the letter, examined by The Gazette through a public records request. 'At a minimum, the closing institution must file a teach-out plan that is formally approved by the commission before the arrangements can be disseminated to students.'

Jane Schorer Meisner, an AIB spokeswoman, said the college did not violate policies by publicly discussing its intentions before filing a plan.

'I can assure you … there was no violation,' Meisner said in an email to The Gazette. 'The (commission) does not have to approve the gifting of AIB to UI, or even the announcement of the plan (although they say it is 'helpful' if they are advised in advance.)'

Meisner said the commission must only approve the plan for transitioning students.

AIB submitted its teach-out plan to the commission earlier this month, and the commission Thursday indicated it has been approved, although that is not final.

When it is released, the plan is expected to look much different from some of the details initially discussed. At the first announcement, officials said AIB students would become UI students, and the campus could start enrolling its first UI-Des Moines class as soon as fall 2015.

A week later, AIB and UI officials pivoted, saying instead that the campus would become a 'Regional Regents Center,' that the transition wouldn't occur until summer 2016 and that AIB students wanting to become UI students would have to apply.

In response to mounting questions, AIB and UI officials scheduled a meeting with AIB students for Feb. 12. But that meeting was canceled after the Feb. 11 letter from the Higher Learning Commission.

'It is very important that you not have discussions with students or make any additional public statements until we can advise you what approvals you need to have in place from the commission,' Gellman-Danley's letter states.

The plan must provide for 'equitable treatment for students,' in part by ensuring they can complete their programs.

AIB President Nancy Williams has said the decision to close her family's 94-year-old institution and give it to UI was not financially motivated. But an email obtained by The Gazette from a policy analyst for the Iowa Senate Democrats indicates AIB's business model 'would have had them financially upside down in three years.'