Assurance Argument

94 Pages·2015·5.79 MB·English

ASSURANCE ARGUMENT | FALL 2015
Prepared for the Higher Learning Commission, North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Introduction
7 Criterion 1
19 Criterion 2
29 Criterion 3
51 Criterion 4
67 Criterion 5
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Dear Higher Learning Commission:
In preparation for our Comprehensive Evaluation for Initial Accreditation, Antioch College has been engaged
in a process of self-study, evaluating our programs and operations to determine how well we are accomplishing
our goals, fulfilling our mission, and meeting the standards of the Higher Learning Commission. The
materials submitted in the Assurance Filing are a reflection of that process. Antioch College is committed to
observing and upholding the Commission’s Obligations of Affiliation, as confirmed in a letter submitted with
our materials.
This introduction provides a candid overview of the College’s history to serve as context for its legacy of
strength in the liberal arts and as an innovator in higher education. It outlines the key decisions and events
surrounding the 2008 closure, as well as the challenges we have faced, the opportunities before us, and
a summary of the work we have done to re-establish Antioch College as a nationally recognized leader in
practical liberal arts education.
It should be noted that Antioch College carried continuous accreditation beginning in 1927, first as Antioch
College, and then in the late 1970s as the undergraduate college of Antioch University. Accreditation remained
with Antioch University when it closed the College in 2008.
Founded at Marion, New York, in October 1850, Antioch College was established as a coeducational,
nonsectarian liberal arts institution—the first in America. In 1853, after receiving a donation of land from
William Mills, the College opened its doors in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with an inaugural faculty of six, one of
whom was the first female college professor in the United States to have status and salary equal to that of
her male colleagues. Noted public education pioneer Horace Mann served as Antioch’s first president. With
the closing words of his 1859 baccalaureate address, Mann bestowed upon the College a sense of mission
and purpose that has carried through its history: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for
humanity.”
From the outset, Antioch established a reputation for educational innovation and progressive politics. The
College’s list of impressive firsts includes having been the first coeducational school to give women and African
Americans the opportunity to pursue baccalaureate degrees, the first to appoint a woman to its Board of
Trustees, one of the first to implement a cooperative education program, and the first in the Midwest to create a
residential environmental learning facility.
Antioch alumni include Nobel Laureates and Rhodes scholars, as well as notables in the arts, government,
business, and education. The College has produced as many Fulbright Scholars as Princeton University, an
institution many times its size. The words of Loren Pope, former education editor of The New York Times and
author of Colleges That Change Lives, speak to Antioch’s unique capability:
Antioch is in a class by itself. There is no college or university in the country that makes a more profound
difference in a young person’s life, or that creates more effective adults. None of the Ivies, big or small, can
match Antioch’s ability to produce outstanding thinkers and doers.
From 1919 to 1921, President Arthur Morgan implemented a new curriculum that combined practical
industrial experience with classroom learning and a new focus on student participation in the shaping of the
college community. The idea that academics are more powerful when integrated with practical experience
in the workplace and in community life served as a powerful catalyst, propelling the College to new levels of
achievement and recognition in the decades that followed, and inspires the vision of the institution today.
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Although its faculty and academic standing remained high, the College began to flounder in the late 1960s.
It lost focus. In a burst of enthusiasm uninformed by financial reality, it launched a vast network of adult
education initiatives meant to bring the Antioch message of self-development and personal ambition to
underserved constituencies across the country. The effort diverted resources and weakened leadership at the
very moment the campus attracted national attention for a string of cultural and political controversies.
In 1978, the Board of Trustees reincorporated the entire institution as Antioch University, which at its peak
included 35 campuses. Administrative restructuring left the College president without direct access to the
Board of Trustees and pitted the graduate adult campuses against the undergraduate residential liberal arts
college in a battle for scarce resources. Enrollment slipped dramatically; finances slowly deteriorated.
Dissipation of energy and resources, cultural differences, weak leadership, and factionalism bedeviled Antioch
College throughout its years as a unit of Antioch University and led to the University’s decision, in June 2007,
to suspend the College’s operations. The campus was officially closed in July 2008 for reasons of financial
exigency. Enrollment at that time was approximately 260 students, served by 35 faculty members (28 with
tenure).
Following the decision by the University to close Antioch College, alumni from around the world pooled their
strength, wealth, and dedication in an effort first to save, and then to re-open Antioch as an independent
college. Alumni coined the mantra, “Be ashamed to let it die,” and created the College Revival Fund (CRF), a
fundraising nonprofit, to support the ongoing operations of the College. Among other things, the CRF funded
the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute—a collaborative effort by former Antioch College faculty, staff, students,
and alumni to carry on Antioch’s values and traditions through a series of workshops, classes, and events that
served more than 100 traditional and nontraditional students.
On September 4, 2009, an agreement was announced creating an independent Antioch College. In exchange
for $6.2 million, Antioch University transferred ownership of most of the College’s buildings and land, the
Glen Helen nature preserve, and a $22.2 million endowment to the Antioch College Continuation Corporation.
The agreement contained certain reversion clauses whereby the College’s campus and endowment could revert
to the University under certain conditions. It became clear to College leadership that unless the University’s
reversionary rights were terminated, the College would lack the authority necessary to make independent
decisions about its own finances, consistent with its institutional interests. With this understanding, the
board authorized the College’s president and legal counsel to enter into negotiations with Antioch University
to purchase the termination of the reversion rights. The settlement discussions culminated in an agreement—
approved by the Greene County Probate Court in July 2013—that eliminates any future rights of the University
to have claim on the College’s campus or endowment. This was a huge win for the College, marking its true
independence from the University system it spawned.
With independence came difficult questions—chief among them, what role would former Antioch faculty
members play in the development of the new academic program, and would those with tenure be reinstated
at the new college? Following a 2008-2009 investigation into the issues surrounding the decision to suspend
operations, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) urged the new College to reinstate
tenured former faculty, but recognized that as a non-successor corporation there was no legal requirement to do
so. This issue would play out over the next two years when new leadership worked out a compromise that gave
former faculty a weighted advantage in the hiring process if they could demonstrate their commitment to the
skills and practices embraced by the new College.
In October 2009, the Board Pro Tempore hired five former faculty, known as the Morgan Fellows, to lay the
groundwork for the revamped curriculum. The Fellows established four guiding principles to shape the initial
curriculum: (1) Personalized and individualized education; (2) Education for meaningful careers that use
the student’s gifts from the beginning; (3) Education for a changing world; and (4) Quality education that
is affordable and efficient. Accordingly, the new curriculum features self-designed majors, a comprehensive
cooperative education program, an individualized, outcomes-based approach to language learning, global
seminars focused on critical world issues, small class sizes, year-round operation, and shared governance.
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When it comes to transformation, a disruption can be an advantage. Antioch College has used its reopening
to rethink what a liberal arts education should be and to provide answers to the pressing issues facing higher
education. Honoring its legacy and building on the ethos of the former Antioch College, the new design
includes:
• Rigorous liberal arts education that is interdisciplinary, experiential, global, and innovative;
• A cooperative education program that links work and campus learning and allows students to test and
refine their growing knowledge and skills in the real world;
• A coordinated system to support student success from the time students first apply; and
• A no-frills campus design that utilizes efficient energy sources, maximizes space utilization, and reduces
long-term facility maintenance costs.
Since opening its doors to students in October 2011, the College has stayed true to this design and has reached a
point of stability, transitioning from a promising start-up to an innovative institution of higher education.
A new chapter
After I announced that I would be stepping down as president on December 31, 2015, the Board of Trustees
convened a 21-person search committee that is on-track to announce my successor in early November. In
the process, they have demonstrated our immense organizational maturity, and I am confident that this
maturity—along with our strong foundation—will lead to a smooth presidential transition and continued
success in the coming years. Further, I believe now is the right time for Antioch to search for a new leader, as
the College can conduct this search from a position of strength, taking justifiable pride in all that has been
accomplished.
One of the most notable accomplishments came in June 2014, when the College was awarded candidacy status
with the HLC—an important step toward the ultimate goal of accreditation. The visit was so successful that
we were allowed to pursue early initial accreditation on a two-year “fast-track”—but it also revealed concerns
and challenges, which we have taken very seriously over the past two years. In response, we have assembled
a presidential-level Diversity Task Force that led a campus-wide diversity audit and is currently finalizing
a Strategic Plan for Diversity. We have also expanded student support services by hiring key positions
in Community Life and Academic Support Services. These are just a couple of examples—a Progress on
Candidacy Recommendations document, linked in the summaries of Criterion 2, 4, and 5, explains how we
responded to each of the candidacy team’s recommendations and directs you to relevant discussions in the
Assurance Argument.
As you read the Assurance Argument, you will see that we have accomplished a great deal in recent years.
Among the most significant milestones:
• We graduated our first class of Horace Mann Fellows in a ceremony featuring Dr. Clarence B. Jones—
Martin Luther King, Jr’s speechwriter and legal counsel.
• We awarded tenure for the first time since re-opening.
• We began our transition to tuition-paying students with the class entering this fall.
• We were approved to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs.
• The campus you will experience in November is vastly different from a decade ago. Since reopening, we
have invested more than $40 million in our historic campus, and in the last three years, have renovated
the Foundry Theater, the Art and Science Building, and the Curl Gymnasium (now the Wellness Center).
Our investment in alternative energy—including the 5-acre solar farm and 345-ton central geothermal plant—
will save an estimated $15 million in energy and maintenance costs over the approximate 30-year life span of
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the facilities, and historic North Hall was awarded Gold LEED status and is now the second oldest building in
America with such designation.
Indeed, alumni and friends have invested heavily in Antioch’s revival—giving more than $80 million in
gifts and commitments since re-opening. We received our largest single gift—$6 million from a family
foundation—in May 2015, and our largest gift from a non-alum—$1 million from a mission-driven billionaire
philanthropist—in March 2015. Despite these successes, we are cognizant of donor fatigue and the need to
reduce our reliance on philanthropy to support the operating budget. (Much more on this in Criterion 5).
In sum, we wrestle with ongoing questions and issues, some unique to Antioch and some shared by campuses
around the country:
• Delivering a “Quality education that is affordable and effective,” as the Morgan Fellows intended, within
today’s higher education regulatory structures;
• Continuing to honor Antioch’s past while charting new paths;
• Considering ways to more fully integrate assets such as the Glen Helen nature preserve, WYSO radio,
Herndon Gallery, Coretta Scott King Center, and the Antioch Review in the curriculum;
• Devising strategies to maintain our commitment to low-income students while ensuring adequate
student-derived revenue to fund operations; and
• Understanding that we cannot continue with current discount rates, preparing to successfully transition
to more student-derived revenue.
Continued engagement around these issues will inform our work as an innovative, sustainable model for
practical liberal arts education. We do this work in the full realization that Antioch’s history demands not that
we stand pat, but rather that we continue to think broadly about what best prepares our students for the many
challenges they will face in devising new and better ways of living for their generation and generations to come.
Sincerely,

Mark Roosevelt
President, Antioch College
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CRITERION 1
1 - Mission
The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.
1.A - Core Component 1.A
The institution’s mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operations.
1. The mission statement is developed through a process suited to the nature and culture of the institution
and is adopted by the governing board.
2. The institution’s academic programs, student support services, and enrollment profile are consistent
with its stated mission.
3. The institution’s planning and budgeting priorities align with and support the mission. (This sub-
component may be addressed by reference to the response to Criterion 5.C.1.)
Argument
1.A.1. In his 1859 baccalaureate address, founding president Horace Mann bestowed upon the College its sense
of mission and purpose when he challenged Antioch students to “Be ashamed to die until you have won some
victory for humanity.” The Board of Trustees reaffirmed Antioch’s dedication to those words on June 7, 2010 by
adopting a mission that echoes Mann’s exhortation.
In 1946, former Antioch president Algo Henderson stated that the role of higher education is “to stimulate the
society of which it is a part to strive constantly toward better ways of living.” This aspiration is reflected in
Antioch College’s vision statement adopted on May 20, 2012.
Mission
The mission of Antioch College is to provide a rigorous liberal arts education on the belief that scholarship
and life experience are strengthened when linked, that diversity in all its manifestations is a fundamental
component of excellence in education, and that authentic social and community engagement is vital for those
who strive to win victories for humanity.
Vision
Antioch College will be the place where new and better ways of living are discovered as a result of meaningful
engagement with the world through intentional linkages between classroom and experiential education.
An early version of the Antioch College mission statement was approved by the Board Pro Tempore of the
Antioch College Continuation Corporation prior to the execution of the September 2009 Asset Purchase
Agreement. In 2010, with Antioch College under new leadership as an independent institution, the mission
statement was revised by College staff and presented to the Board of Trustees. In June 2010, the Board of
Trustees unanimously approved the College’s mission statement.
Historically, Antioch College has been noted for its egalitarian culture in which students, faculty and staff
participate actively in the governance of the College. When the College re-opened, this aspect of its history
was revived, as evident by the inclusive strategic planning process that resulted in AC/2020: A Strategic Plan
for Antioch College. The plan was developed with broad community participation, as discussed in 5.C.3. As a
starting point in this process, the campus community articulated the vision and reaffirmed the College mission

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statement. The strategic plan that emerged from this process was approved by the Board in May 2013 and
articulates six broad goals directed toward achieving the mission:
1. Connect an excellent liberal arts curriculum with rich experiential education and deep community
involvement.
2. Attract and retain right-fit students and employees.
3. Build a sustainable educational environment.
4. Support the programs through a strong revenue base and financial management.
5. Serve local, national, and global communities.
6. Emphasize institutional effectiveness.
1.A.2. In alignment with Goal 2: Attract and retain right-fit students and employees, Antioch College seeks
students who show the potential to display five right-fit characteristics defined during the strategic planning
process:
1. Ability to identify problems, articulate solutions, and see them manifest in the world.
2. Eagerness to see the opportunity in challenge and a willingness to overcome obstacles.
3. Innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that values learning by doing and a sense of personal agency.
4. Belief in and value of deep knowledge and studied discourse, and how those relate to work.
5. An ability/eagerness to engage, both intellectually and socially, within a small, diverse community.
The Office of Admission—which uses an admission rubric to assess applicants in these five areas—has been
successful at attracting right-fit students, as evidenced by Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP)
Freshman Survey results (TFS). Survey comparisons indicate that incoming Antioch students are ready to
“take on” a rigorous liberal arts curriculum and have demonstrated critical-thinking and problem-solving
skills, a strong sense of social agency, and experience in community engagement. Table 1.1 shows survey results
as they relate to each of the five right-fit characteristics.
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TABLE 1.1 CIRP TFS 2014 COMPARISONS

Right-Fit Comparison
CIRP TFS 2014 Antioch Students Sig.^^
Characteristics Group^
Civic Engagement
Construct—
Ability to identify
problems, articulate Measures engagement
56.1 50.2 ***
solutions, and see them in civic, electoral, and
manifest in the world. political activities
Eagerness to see Accept mistakes as part of
the opportunity in the learning process—
challenge, and a 74% 57% *
% reporting “frequently”
willingness to overcome
obstacles.
Social Agency Construct—
Innovative and
entrepreneurial spirit Measures extent to which
that values learning students value political and 56.6 49.9 ***
by doing and a sense of social involvement
personal agency.
Habits of Mind Construct—
Belief in and value of
Measures learning
deep knowledge and
behaviors that are
studied discourse, and 54.0 50.7 *
consistent with lifelong
how those relate to
learning
work.
Openness to having views
challenged—
% reporting “a major 50% 27% *
strength”
An ability/eagerness
to engage, both
intellectually and
Ability to see the world
socially, within a small,
from someone else’s
diverse community.
perspective—
40% 32% *
% reporting “a major
strength”

^The comparison group consists of 4-year non-sectarian colleges.
^^ Significance *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
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Antioch strives to recruit a student body that is reflective of diversity in all its manifestations. One of the ways
the College accomplishes this goal is through its commitment to recruiting and serving first-generation and
low-income students. As part of the strategic planning process, the College embarked on an environmental
scanning process in October 2014. This analysis illuminated the fact that the emerging majority of K-12
students are non-white, lower-income students. However, only 30% of low-income students enroll in educational
programs after high school, and only 9% will earn a degree within six years. Antioch College is well positioned
to respond to this external challenge; the College has high enrollment numbers of low-income, first-generation
students and an average retention rate of 90%—one of the highest in the Great Lakes Colleges Association
(GLCA). The environmental scanning process resulted in a student-centered Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
framework that articulates our commitment to:
1. A new generation of College students—many of whom are the first in their family to attend College; and
2. Highly academically capable students of all income levels.
In February 2015, the College announced the Opportunity Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship for first-
generation college students in the Class of 2019. Accordingly, about 58% percent of students in the Antioch
Class of 2019 are first in their families to go to college (by comparison, the average for private liberal arts
colleges is 13%). It is estimated that 45% of the student body will be eligible for Pell grants—need-based grants
provided to low-income students. This percentage would make Antioch the highest Pell-receiving school in the
GLCA.
Antioch’s enrollment profile in terms of race and gender is comparable to GLCA colleges, as shown in Table
1.2. The Office of Admission hired an Admission Counselor and Multicultural Recruiting and Enrollment
Coordinator to lend additional support to student diversity efforts.
TABLE 1.2 ENROLLMENT PROFILE
Antioch Class entering Antioch Student Body, GLCA Peers Class
in Fall 2014 as of Fall 2014 entering in Fall 2013
Enrollment 71 238 1960
Women 73% 66% 55%
Students of Color 25% 21% 25%
First-generation students 28% 18% N/A
Pell Grant Recipients 45%* 45%* 20%
*Estimated figures
When Antioch students arrive at the College they are quickly engaged in what we refer to as the three
C’s—Classroom, Co-op and Community. Each of these areas directly links to components of the mission:
Classroom and rigorous liberal arts education; Co-op and the link between scholarship and life experiences; and
Community and authentic social and community engagement. Together, students’ engagement with these areas
prepares them to win victories for humanity.
Rigorous Liberal Arts Curriculum
Antioch students engage with 11 academic majors across four divisions that are essential to a liberal arts
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