This story broke just today that there was an investigation of financial improprieties under Jane Sanders at Burlington College by the FBI and the Department of Justice. There is no word so far if the investigation is still ongoing. Here’s more from Vermont reporters:

The chair of the Burlington College board of trustees said Thursday that the FBI investigation has been going for more than a year, and at least one former school employee was subpoenaed as part of the probe. In January 2016, after reporting by VTDiggershowing former Burlington College President Jane Sanders overstated pledged donations in applying for a loan so the school could purchase its former North Avenue campus, Republican lawyer Brady Toensing made a formal request to the U.S. attorney for a fraud investigation. The Vermont Agency of Education took possession of records left at the college in the wake of its sudden closure in May. When a college closes, state law requires the school or the state to keep academic records so students can obtain transcripts and graduate certificates.

It turns out there was a burglary at the Burlington College that put these records into disarray with computers being stolen and forced the state to take the nonacademic records, which includes financial records, in addition to academic records



So, as a result, many of these records are messed up and this Republican lawyer, Toensing, had requested access to the nonacademic records as well.

In November, Toensing requested an index of the records in the state’s possession. Education officials provided a list showing business records, board materials such as meeting minutes dating back to 1998, and records relating to the school’s accreditation. Toensing then filed a public records request for some of the documents, which was denied on the basis that the nonacademic materials were not Agency of Education records.

This whole situation goes back to the purchase of lands that Burlington College had made under Jane Sanders when she overstated the college’s finances in applying for a $6.7 million loan to purchase the land. She had said that the college had $2.6 million pledged to purchase the land.

There was only $676,000 in actual donations to the college from 2010 to 2014.



When Jane Sanders came onboard, she had a plan to build up enrollment and to expand the school’s endowment. She had hoped that the purchase of the land to expand the campus and increasing the enrollment would work in covering the purchase of the land.



It did not work. The college is now bankrupt. Here is a recent report about how Burlington College is doing post-Sanders:

Sanders resigned in 2011 after months of debate about the college with its board, but neither Sanders nor the college gave a specific reason for her departure. Her successor, Christine Plunkett, was tasked with figuring out how to pay back the college’s debts. Plunkett tried recruiting new students from China but had little luck. In 2013, key faculty had their hours and benefits cut, and some resigned. In 2014, the college’s accreditor placed the school on probation because of its shaky finances. Students formed a union that demanded Plunkett’s resignation. She resigned — but problems remained. The Sanders campaign declined to comment for this article on behalf of Bernie or Jane Sanders, who works for the campaign. The college was most likely “not being as careful as it needs to be,” said Ben Miller, senior director for higher education at the Center for American Progress. Sanders reportedly took a $200,000 severance package, and the college was attempting to attract students with new master’s degree programs — a signal to analysts that it was desperate for revenue.

The fact that there was an FBI investigation and also led by the U.S. Attorney Genera’s office in Vermont goes to show you how big this would have gotten in the media if Bernie Sanders had been nominee in the general election.



I think Jane Sanders had hoped that taking a risk in buying more land for the college would attract the students the college needed. That clearly didn’t work. However, there were things that were overlooked in the expansion plan that seemed to be working well:

Before Jane Sanders’ grand expansion plans, there were a number of things Burlington College did well that policymakers may want to inspect more closely, said Seton Hall University assistant professor Robert Kelchen. The college was angling to help hard-to-serve students like veterans and adult learners, who might not fit in at traditional four-year colleges. Unusual degree programs helped the college stand out to prospective students. And housing the college in a single building helped keep costs in line with revenue.

It’s too bad that these were overlooked in favor of a gamble to attract more students with a land purchase. It seems like these are commonsense steps a college can take to increase enrollment and attract new students. Hopefully more colleges will eschew land purchases, expanding stadiums, or renovating student dorms in favor of changing its curriculum, how students are taught, and look for ways to lower tuition costs for college students.