Burlington College
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Burlington College was a
private college Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. D ...
in
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
. It offered associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees, as well as several professional certificates. Although regionally accredited by the
New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...
, the college was placed on probation in July 2014 for failing to meet the accreditor's standards regarding financial resources. The college ceased operations in 2016.


History

Burlington College started in 1972 as the Vermont Institute of Community Involvement. A handful of students met in the living room of founder Dr. Steward LaCasce. It originally served
adult learner An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
s and veterans. In 2007, the college had 204 students at its main campus in buildings in downtown Burlington. Since most were part-time, this worked out to 130 "full-time equivalents". An additional 30 students studied off-campus. In 2010, Jane O’Meara Sanders oversaw the purchase of 33 acres of property to be used for college expansion, with the resulting significant debt to be covered by already pledged donations and tuition from planned increased enrollment over five years. Sanders departed shortly after, with Christine Plunkett assuming the position of president. In 2014, the regional accreditor of the college placed it on probation because of its financial condition, and
votes of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
were given to Plunkett from organizations representing students, faculty, and staff. She resigned shortly thereafter. In 2015, the college resold 27.5 acres of the land it had purchased. In May 2016, the college board of trustees decided to close the school. According to David A. Graham, writing in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', some of the school's financial difficulties dated back to 2010 when the board of directors and Sanders purchased the property in 2010. The original $11 million of debt had been worked down to about $2 million, but because of remaining debt and "insufficient financial resources", the school's bank declined to renew their $1 million line of credit and the school was facing the loss of their accreditation. Local Burlington developer Eric Farrell planned to purchase the campus from the bank to develop a park and housing.


Presidents

# 1972–1994: J. Steward LaCasce # 1994–2002: Daniel Casey # 2002–2003:
Mary Clancy Mary Catherine Clancy (born 13 January 1948) is a Canadian former politician and former lawyer. She was the Member of Parliament representing Halifax from 1988 to 1997. Career Clancy won the Halifax electoral district for the Liberal Party in ...
# 2004–2011: Jane O’Meara Sanders # 2012–2014: Christine Plunkett # 2014: Michael Smith (interim) # 2014–2016: Carol A. Moore


Campus

In 2010, Burlington College announced its intention to purchase the property of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington ( la, Dioecesis Burlingtonensis) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States, comprising the entire state of Vermont. The Diocese of Burlington was canonically e ...
for use as its main campus. The college sold its former campus to the Committee for Temporary Shelter, a welfare agency, and purchased of waterfront diocese property in early 2011. In 2015, the college arranged to sell a local developer a parcel of land, as well as the former diocesan orphanage attached to the office and classroom building. The developer, Farrell Real Estate, drafted a master plan to convert the orphanage to student housing. The college retained the original diocese building for classrooms, studios, art rooms, film and radio, laboratories, etc., and the surrounding property. At the press conference announcing the closure, the school stated that the developer would purchase the college's North Avenue campus from the bank.


Academics

Burlington College offered a span of undergraduate programs in the arts, writing and literature, film studies, photography, fine arts, legal studies, transpersonal psychology/psychology, human services, media activism, and graphic design, and an individualized undergraduate and graduate degree program. The college offered students study-abroad options within Europe, and in 2008, Burlington College became one of the very few universities in the United States to offer a study-abroad program in
Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
in conjunction with the
University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first ...
. Students had the ability to spend a semester at the university or take one of several one-week trips offered throughout the academic year. Burlington College joined several other universities in the United States by offering students the option of a
narrative evaluation In education, narrative evaluation is a form of performance measurement and feedback which can be used as an alternative or supplement to grading. Narrative evaluations generally consist of several paragraphs of written text about a student's indi ...
in addition to traditional transcripts. In connection with the undergraduate legal studies program, Burlington College held an articulation agreement with
Vermont Law School Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law a ...
which allowed Burlington College graduates to proceed into the
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
and joint Juris Doctor programs at Vermont Law School upon successful completion of their undergraduate studies. Burlington College also offered an affiliation with the Vermont Woodworking School in Fairfax. The courses in woodworking and fine craftsmanship were offered for credit to support both
Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...
and
Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...
degree programs. In addition to woodworking skills, students took the usual general education requirements of the college. The degree could be taken on campus, at a distance, or in combination. Burlington College offered a low-residency
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree. The degree was individualized and tailored to meet the academic needs and focus of individual graduate students.


Rankings

In August 2011, ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' and ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' ranked Burlington College as the number-one school in the United States for free-spirited students (free-spirited defined as schools where, "there are no mandatory classes, tests or official letter or number grades"). In October 2013, ''Newsweek'' named Burlington College as among the 10 colleges in the United States to have the highest rate of participation in student internships in their study field.


References


External links

* {{Coord, 44.4912, -73.2282, display=title Defunct private universities and colleges in Vermont Education in Burlington, Vermont Educational institutions established in 1972 Buildings and structures in Burlington, Vermont Education in Chittenden County, Vermont 1972 establishments in Vermont Educational institutions disestablished in 2016 2016 disestablishments in Vermont