COSTA MESA – In its 57-page report, the team representing the accrediting agency that oversees universities in the Western U.S. commended Vanguard employees for their commitment to the university and “the care with which they work to advance the learning and good character of their students.”
But they also pointed out the long-term financial drain and poor management that led to the inability to successfully plan for the institution’s long-term growth and survival.
Here are the key recommendations from the report:
1. Immediately take steps to rectify the “severe fiscal, management and governance issues, and to rectify accounting irregularities and faulty business practices.”
2. Revamp the Board of Trustees to be more independent and experienced at providing oversight for a university.
3. Revisit and affirm a commitment to diversity.
4. Find a way to link departmental assessments with the larger picture of university-wide planning.
5. Bring financial management and oversight under the authority of a Chief Financial Officer who reports to the president, with qualified finance and audit committees on the board of trustees.
6. More support for reviews of how much students are learning
7. Create an institutional research function that provides full financial and enrollment data.
8. Provide better information technology systems
The six-member team that visited the campus in September drew some of its information from a report that had been commissioned by the Assemblies of God denomination, which owns Vanguard.
In addition to financial problems, the accrediting team also found problems with leadership from the top down.
On the day the accrediting team arrived, the university president resigned, leaving five relatively new vice presidents in place with little Vanguard experience among them.
Fundamental problems were found in cash flow and accounting functions.
For example, a building program planned for the university’s much vaunted “Vision 2010” growth included the costs of construction, but not what it would cost to furnish and run the buildings once they were erected. That program has temporarily been shelved, Taylor said.
Accreditors said they were told of one instance in 2007 when the campus had to borrow enough cash temporarily from a trustee just to make payroll.
The university’s board of trustees also lacked the expertise in higher education to run a university of its size, accreditors said. The board largely consisted of Assembly of God pastors, who might be experienced at running churches but not a major university.
Vanguard needed to revamp its board to include people with greater expertise in higher education management – something that is already under way.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7994 or mfisher@ocregister.coms
