Policy 6.15 B Academic Recovery Team Procedures (Institutional Closure)

Regulatory Procedure

In the event of a permanent institutional closure of Quincy College, the College will, at a minimum, observe the procedures stated in the New England Commission of Higher Education (“NECHE”) document entitled, “Considerations When Closing an Institution of Higher Education” dated as of April 2010 as revised from time to time by NECHE and available at https://www.neche.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Pp13-Considerations_When_Closing_an_Institution_of_Higher_Education.pdf procedures as well as the closure guidelines of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education for Independent Institutions available at http://www.mass.edu/foradmin/closures/home.asp, including the identification of a back-up or other entity to safeguard student records in such a case. Quincy College has identified the following procedures that would be followed in the event of institutional closure with regard to the safeguarding of student records.

Safeguarding Student Records

Quincy College students, graduates, and alumni will be duly informed of the institutional closure via email, the College’s website, and public advertisements. Quincy College’s current, former students, and alumni will be duly informed that they are able to request their academic records from Parchment, a digital credential service, permitting students, employers and college/universities to request, verify, and  deliver credentials in a secure way.

Quincy College incorporates this institutional closure policy and procedure into its Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) in which both form an integral part of the College’s BCP (defined below) in the event of an institutional closure and/or significant disruption to the continuing business of the College and/or its Data Center.

Access to Student Records Upon Closure

Quincy College, selects Parchment, for the filing and maintenance of academic records. The College will take reasonable steps to notify current and former students about the arrangements for the filing and maintenance of academic records. In addition, the College’s accreditor, the New England Commission on  Higher Education (“NECHE”), will be notified about the filing and maintenance of academic records in the event the College discontinues operations. Both the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) and NECHE will be expected to post information about obtaining access to Quincy College records from Parchment on their respective websites.

Teach Out Policy and Procedure

In the event Quincy College decides to cease operations and/or discontinue an academic program before all enrolled students have completed their program of study, the College will implement a teach- out plan in accordance with the requirements of its accreditor, NECHE, and may also consider refunds to students as appropriate in accordance with NECHE’s Policy on Teach-Out Plans and Teach-Out Agreements also available at https://www.neche.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/PP13a-Teach-Out-Plans-and-Agreements.pdf

Notwithstanding the aforementioned, Quincy College affirms that it will, as an alternative work  with DHE and NECHE to comply with their respective requirements regarding safeguarding of student records in the event of institutional closure. Quincy College further affirms that the College will follow the New England Commission on Higher Education’s (NECHE) “Considerations When Closing an Institution of Higher Education” and the Massachusetts DHE’s “Notice  of Closure Guidelines for Massachusetts Independent Institutions.”