At a small private university in Ohio, faculty and staff say they haven’t been paid consistently all year. Students say they’ve been waiting on tuition refunds for months. And the first half of the fall semester was called off shortly before it was supposed to begin.
Now the clock is ticking for Union Institute and University. The U.S. Department of Education gave Union until Friday to secure $12 million in credit or lose access to federal aid. Karen Schuster Webb, Union’s president, sent The Chronicle a statement on Monday saying that the university is “working with consultants to comply” with the request.
It’s the latest example of an institution attempting to hold on while facing financial woes and declining enrollment.
Union offers online programs in fields like maternal and child health, education, and leadership, primarily serving adult learners. According to federal data, the university has been shrinking over the last decade: Enrollment dropped to 776 in 2021 from 1,666 students in 2012, and the total number of employees declined to 282 in 2021 from 536 in 2013.
Faculty and staff told The Chronicle that starting in March, their paychecks were often late. They said they haven’t been paid since July. A proposed class-action lawsuit against Union over alleged nonpayment of wages is pending.
When the university first missed payments, Webb attributed the issue to a “significant percentage of unpaid tuition” and “uncollected receivables” from federal and state governments, according to an email sent to employees that was shared with The Chronicle. But Union’s finances have been on the rocks for several years, reported WCPO, a local ABC affiliate.
This summer, the station reported, students alleged that the university was using their tuition refunds — intended to cover nontuition expenses like course materials and living costs — to make payroll, which led the federal government to get involved.
The Ohio Department of Commerce confirmed to The Chronicle that they are actively investigating two wage complaints.
Some students and employees at Union told The Chronicle the scrutiny feels like too little, too late.
“Why are they not stepping in now?” asked Romel Cuellar, an undergraduate student in the emergency-services-management program. “So that at least we, as students, can have some … peace of mind that something’s being done and somebody’s looking out for us.” At the moment, Cuellar said, it doesn’t “really feel like anybody’s looking out for us.”
No Plans to Close
Before the latest crisis, Webb repeatedly told faculty and staff in emails that the financial situation would be resolved, that she looked forward to Union’s “bright future,” and reassured them that Union remains “open and fully accredited.”
At the moment, it doesn’t “really feel like anybody’s looking out for us.”
In August, the Education Department placed Union on what’s known as “Heightened Cash Monitoring Level 2,” a designation that restricts access to financial aid. It means colleges must disburse loans and grants to students out of their own institutional funds, document students’ eligibility for aid, and then request reimbursement from the department. Typically, the government advances that money to colleges.
A landlord sued the university in August over alleged nonpayment of rent at its Cincinnati headquarters.
The university’s first fall term, slated to start in September, was canceled due to budget woes. Union officials said at the time that they still plan to hold the second fall term in November.
Staff members said that Webb assured them in September that their health insurance remained active. But a few days later, an employee who tried to pick up prescriptions was told their health benefits were canceled retroactively to June 30. When word got out, other employees called the insurance provider and found out they were no longer insured.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education, which oversees colleges in the state, said in a statement to The Chronicle that it will continue monitoring the situation at Union. “In light of the fall semester calendar change, we have asked Union for specific information about how it plans to meet the needs of affected students,” the statement said.
The Higher Learning Commission, Union’s accreditor, gave the university a “financial distress” label on September 7, which means an institution is still accredited but may not have the resources to support its educational programs.
Union is now slated for a “focused visit” on October 23 to discuss its compliance with accreditation requirements. A spokesperson for the Higher Learning Commission said no one was available for an interview.
In a statement to The Chronicle, Union said that it has “submitted required responses and supporting documentation in advance of the visit.” Officials are working to ensure requested information is available for the accreditor, the statement said, including “new fund-raising activities” the university is planning and a provisional teach-out plan if it has to close — a “required element” of the visit.
Faculty and Staff Feel Stuck
Faculty and staff told The Chronicle they are now facing unanticipated medical expenses due to the loss of health insurance, and emotional stress because of Union’s financial situation.
Kathryn Giancola, formerly an assistant registrar, said she was not only “pressured to work for free” but was also asked to take on the duties of four positions while the institution operated like a “skeleton crew.”
After almost a decade at Union, Giancola left her role in September. She said she learned from a lawyer that, as an hourly employee, she had technically been constructively discharged by Union due to nonpayment of wages and cancellation of health benefits.
“Yes, I love the university. Yes, I believe in its mission and care about the students,” she said. “But at some point, you know, I had to say, ‘Wait a minute, this is nuts. This doesn’t make sense to continue to work.’ And the more time that went on, the more and more it looked like we would never, ever see another paycheck from Union. I mean, it would take a miracle.”
Union told The Chronicle it could not comment on payroll due to “ongoing litigation,” but that they “anticipate sharing more with employees soon.” The university has hired a new interim chief financial officer, Lee Blackwell, to assist “the university with finances and restructuring matters.”
In July, following months of late paychecks, two-thirds of employees participated in a vote of no confidence in President Webb and Edgar L. Smith Jr., the Board of Trustees chair, as well as a vote calling for both Webb and Smith to resign. Both resolutions were overwhelmingly approved by employees.
Union has blown up our lives by not paying us [and] taking away our benefits without even telling us.
“The board is aware of the concerns raised regarding President Webb and Trustees Chair Edgar Smith,” Union’s statement to The Chronicle said, adding that board members “have expressed full confidence” in Webb and Smith and “are not considering the idea of their resignations at this time.”
Union’s board created a committee to investigate complaints against Webb and Smith and “were unable to substantiate the concerns.” The statement said the board remains committed to including the university’s community in “providing feedback to assist decision-making going forward.”
Spokespeople from Union’s Faculty Council, who asked to not be identified due to fears of retaliation, said that the “internal” investigation was dismissive and “didn’t really match the facts.”
Despite the institution’s dwindling student population, Covia Boyd, an internship coordinator for the clinical mental-health counseling master’s program, said that his department consistently “exceeded” enrollment targets. When Boyd joined Union in 2017, the program transitioned from psychology to counseling and earned accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs in “record time,” he said.
“We built that program. We took that program from a failing psychology program and turned it into a thriving mental-health program,” Boyd said. “And now, for no fault of our own, it looks like things are gonna crumble. And that hurts.” Boyd said he is serving as an elementary-school substitute teacher to make ends meet.
Union’s Ph.D. program in interdisciplinary studies is still holding classes, and its professors are teaching without pay, said Yulia Tolstikov-Mast, a professor and chair of the ethical and creative leadership concentration. Tolstikov-Mast said she feels an “obligation” to her students and is committed to “teaching throughout the semester and until the end.”
Union’s students, faculty, and staff are scattered across the country, so they’ve connected online in recent months. Corina Smith, a professor in the criminal-justice-management program, said she created a Facebook group to help keep everyone in the loop after Union’s phones went down in August. The group now has over 230 members.
Students Weigh Their Options
Union’s decision to call off the first half of the fall semester has left students in limbo.
Three students told The Chronicle that they are unsure whether to continue paying tuition or when they’ll be able to finish their degrees. They said the university hasn’t been transparent with students; many were unaware of Union’s financial problems until they found out fall classes were delayed.
Doctoral students have sent three letters this year to President Webb, calling on the university to ensure faculty and staff were paid; the letters were shared with The Chronicle. Their most recent letter called for the resignation of Webb and current Board of Trustees members. Administrators didn’t respond, students said.
Many students are still waiting on thousands of dollars in refunds that they were owed in July.
Aleksei Moniz Mirov, a doctoral student in humanities and culture, said he and his partner were told that reimbursements are being distributed on a “need based” system. Mirov, who is based in New Orleans, said that he explained to Union that they needed money for rent, medicine, and bills, but for now he remains in the queue.
“There’s no good choices,” said Mirov, “so we’re trying to survive, and it’s a question of do we try to get jobs, and hold down full-time jobs and try to hold down class work while this is being mismanaged, or not?”
Transferring to another institution would be challenging, students said: Many of Union’s programs are specialized, and it’s hard to find an equivalent program where credits will carry over. Students value Union for its flexibility; many of them are parents or work full time. Plus, students said that given the lack of staff in the registrar’s office and the fact that the university is locked out of its headquarters in Cincinnati, it would be difficult to secure the documents and support needed for transferring.
Cuellar, the student studying emergency-services-management, said that he is slated to graduate this February, and transferring would put him back by two years. Cuellar has worked in law enforcement for nearly 25 years. He said he’s up for a promotion at work but needs a bachelor’s degree to qualify.
Students said they also value Union because they believe it’s committed to social justice and support for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
A large share of its enrollment is students of color, said Aleesha Towns-Bain, a doctoral student in the ethical and creative leadership concentration. She said that Union is a “rich community,” with students doing “amazing work” across different fields, and that the faculty are “the most caring people” she’s ever met.
Mirov said that students feel “celebrated” for their identities and that “marginalized voices are valued” by Union. Mirov added that the nontraditional Ph.D. program met their needs as a student with disabilities.
Current and former employees said they want to keep supporting their students, but they can only do that for so long without pay.
“I love Union. I loved my job prior to all this starting,” said Giancola, the former assistant registrar. “Union has blown up our lives by not paying us [and] taking away our benefits without even telling us.”
