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Undermining education in Vermont
From an emailed letter to researchers in Vermont:
Degree granting institutions in the State of Vermont must meet the standards of their accrediting agency in order to grant degrees. I write to invite you to respond to a request for feedback to suggested changes regarding libraries in the accreditation standards for the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) that reviews the colleges and universities in the state of Vermont. This includes both public institutions (UVM, Vermont State University, and CCV) and private institutions (Middlebury, St. Michaels, Bennington and more).
The Current NECHE standards ensure that libraries and librarians are available to the students, faculty, and staff of each institution by stating:
7.22 The institution provides access to library and information resources, services, facilities, and qualified staff sufficient to support its teaching and learning environments and its research and public service mission as appropriate.
In the new proposed standards, this language has been omitted and the closest mention to the work of libraries and librarians is:
3.9 Institutions must ensure their physical, information, and technological resources are sufficient to support student learning.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
NECHE is collecting comments from the public on these changes and I encourage you to provide feedback if you are in a position to do so.
The deadline for providing feedback is October 15, 2025. Feedback should be submitted by email to: Standardsreview@neche.org
Things you may wish to address in your feedback include:
If you feel comfortable doing so, encourage others to provide feedback – including instructors at Vermont colleges and universities (beyond librarians) and students at Vermont colleges and universities.
Here's another link that may be helpful: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10MJW5k0sow-JDHby0f07LQ2XVuTIP9fWxs0_MaDnnKs/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.5avofnduxdtx
The Current NECHE standards ensure that libraries and librarians are available to the students, faculty, and staff of each institution by stating:
7.22 The institution provides access to library and information resources, services, facilities, and qualified staff sufficient to support its teaching and learning environments and its research and public service mission as appropriate.
In the new proposed standards, this language has been omitted and the closest mention to the work of libraries and librarians is:
3.9 Institutions must ensure their physical, information, and technological resources are sufficient to support student learning.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
NECHE is collecting comments from the public on these changes and I encourage you to provide feedback if you are in a position to do so.
The deadline for providing feedback is October 15, 2025. Feedback should be submitted by email to: Standardsreview@neche.org
Things you may wish to address in your feedback include:
· Examples of the ways in which libraries and librarians impact student learning; their impact on research by faculty and students; and their contributions to the greater community.
· Specific stories to illustrate your feedback and help it stand out – these could be stories from your work as a librarian, of your or your children’s experiences in college etc.
· Specific recommendations about what you want to see changed or retained in the draft standards.
If you feel comfortable doing so, encourage others to provide feedback – including instructors at Vermont colleges and universities (beyond librarians) and students at Vermont colleges and universities.
Here's another link that may be helpful: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10MJW5k0sow-JDHby0f07LQ2XVuTIP9fWxs0_MaDnnKs/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.5avofnduxdtx
Accompanying table:
