College of DuPage: We're making progress on reforms
Reforms at the College of DuPage started months before an accreditation agency issued its scathing report that raises questions about the actions of the school's administration, officials say.
The Higher Learning Commission last month released the report that cited numerous "integrity" concerns under former President Robert Breuder's watch, such as administrators dining and drinking at the college's high-end restaurant, a theft at the campus radio station and the awarding of certain contracts.
But during a Thursday night review of how COD has responded to issues highlighted in the report, officials said there were policy revisions and other changes before commission members visited the Glen Ellyn campus in July.
"I think that things are improved," said John Dischner of Alix Partners, who serves as the school's interim chief financial officer and treasurer. "Some of it was probably improved before the HLC got here. Some of its been improved since then."
The school has been dealing with a string of controversies that include a former employee of the campus radio station WDCB being accused of stealing more than $200,000 from the college.
In addition, Breuder and other administrators charged alcohol expenses, often in violation of board and administrative policy, at COD's Waterleaf restaurant, which has since been closed.
Another issue raised in the HLC report involved the awarding of contracts to vendors whose owners or employees serve as members of the COD Foundation board.
Board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton, who gained control of the board in April when three of her political allies were elected, pointed out that more than a dozen policies have been created or improved to prevent past practices from happening again.
And this fall, Breuder was fired along with two other high-ranking administrators - Thomas Glaser and Lynn Sapyta. Glaser served as the school's senior vice president of administration and treasurer, and Sapyta was assistant vice president of financial affairs and controller.
"I think it's safe to say that we are definitely improved and that we're definitely moving in a direction to resolve any problems that we have seen," Hamilton said. "But the most important thing is we actually are acknowledging that there were problems. I think that's a departure from what we saw last year."
When it comes to the radio station, officials say the management has changed and there are more controls in place to prevent questionable equipment purchases. For example, a policy is being revised to require board approval for a series of contracts to the same vendor if the total amount of the contracts exceeds $25,000.
Dischner said officials also are exploring ways to provide periodic reports on the radio station and other "auxiliary enterprises."
As for the Waterleaf, Dischner said the main issue the HLC raised involved reminbursing administrators for their alcohol purchases and the use of house accounts, which allow designated individuals to simply sign for business-related campus purchases.
In addition to closing the restaurant, the house accounts no longer exist and there's been "a cultural change" at COD regarding reimbursement of alcohol purchases, Dischner said.
When it comes to COD Foundation board members doing business with the school, Dischner said COD is in the process of implementing language in requests for proposals that will require vendors to disclose potential conflicts. Officials also are considering a protocol where foundation board members would disclose their relationships to COD.
"I think we're in a good position to understand if there's a conflict with a foundation board member or not," Dischner said. "But I think we do need to get some more formality around it."