How we can protect students, staff from last-minute college and university closures

University of the Arts student Joey Miller was a sophomore studying film animation when the Philadelphia Inquirer broke the news that the University of the Arts — UArts — was shutting its doors. With no warning, no explanation and no guidance from school leadership, Miller said his life and the lives of his classmates were thrown into chaos.

"This has been devastating," he testified at a recent Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee hearing.

Kevin Mercer, an associate professor in the UArts illustration program, was at a Phillies game with his family when he learned the news.

"My wife got the first message on her phone," Mercer testified. "'Wow — sorry to hear about your husband.' Then my phone started buzzing. It was surreal. It was a gut-punch delivered in a ballpark with zero privacy…Now, I'm making plans to possibly leave academia."

When higher education institutions like the University of the Arts abruptly close with no warning, the impact is devastating for everyone, from the debt-laden students left without an educational path to the faculty and school employees who find themselves out of work, to the small businesses who relied on the patronage of school customers. When the school that closes is a large one employing hundreds or thousands of people, the closure removes a huge economic anchor for the community.

For some students, abrupt closures deal a death blow to career dreams.

Joey Miller testified that he could not return to higher education anytime soon because of the number of personal upheavals caused by the closure. And some studies show that most students at colleges who close never resume that educational path.

The issue is a pressing one. While the closure of UArts is tragic, it's far from an isolated case. Over the past year, at least six higher education institutions in Pennsylvania have either closed, merged, or announced plans to close or merge in the near future.

These institutions are the canary in the coal mine. We need to develop sound policy to help us identify schools in trouble before they fail, so we can provide technical assistance to help them and security for students so they can complete their degrees.

Reporting and accountability are key. In the near future, we plan to introduce legislation that would require greater transparency from colleges and universities regarding their finances.

Under our proposal, any college or university that receives funding from the state — which includes most private colleges like University of the Arts — would be required to submit annual enrollment and financial information, create a repository of transcripts, and notify the state of an impending closure or consolidation.

Requiring this information on a yearly basis would provide the state Department of Education with the tools to put a school under corrective action status and possibly help prevent its closure.

It would ensure that institutions receiving taxpayer money are transparent and responsible in their operations and that issues can be identified before it is too late. 

And critically, in the event a closure could not be prevented, it would give students and staff time to adjust their career and job plans.

Having advance warning matters. In an article in The Hechinger Report, Jon Marcus discusses the difference this made for students at a South Dakota college that remained open and offered support in the months before shutting down. Students there had markedly higher graduation or successful transfer rates than those whose colleges closed abruptly with no warning or support.

While we respect the autonomy of private institutions, we also have a duty to protect students, workers and taxpayers. We believe our proposal would strike the necessary balance by promoting the long-term stability of higher education while also providing greater security for staff and students like Alex McFadden — the graduating UArts senior who testified about the emotional toll.

"I'm worried about my classmates," McFadden said. "I'm worried about how all of us are going to be able to go into the workplace with the same confidence we had before."

As much as we might like to, we can't erase that history for UArts students. But we can try to prevent it from happening to future ones. This is about safeguarding their educational journey.

State Rep. Bob Merski represents the 2nd Legislative District in Erie County, and state Rep. Ben Waxman represents the 182nd Legislative District in Philadelphia County.