Keystone College’s accreditor voted to revoke the institution’s accreditation effective Dec. 31, according to a notice Tuesday from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The accreditation loss would make the private Pennsylvania college ineligible for federal Title IV funds such as student loans and Pell Grants, which could in turn imperil its viability.
Keystone has the option to appeal MSCHE’s decision and would maintain its accreditation through the process, the accreditor said. The college must notify MSCHE of its intent to appeal by mid-December.
College officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. In a statement published by local media, Pullo said Keystone plans to appeal and argued that MSCHE’s decision “significantly undervalues the progress the College has made over the past several months to strengthen our financial situation, rectify our weaknesses, and move forward.”
In a Monday letter to Keystone President John Pullo, MSCHE cited the college’s failure to provide evidence showing compliance with several accreditation requirements, including around ethics and integrity, planning and resources, and governance and leadership.
Furthermore, the accreditor said Keystone failed to “demonstrate that it can sustain itself in the short or long term."
With the accreditation withdrawal, MSCHE is requiring Keystone to update its teach-out plan by Dec. 6 that would equitably allow students to finish their studies either at the institution or a partner college.
The move to nix Keystone’s accreditation follows attempts by the college to find a path to sustainability amid financial woes.
In April, MSCHE warned that Keystone was at serious risk of closure and issued a show-cause order — typically the final warning before accreditation can be withdrawn — directing the college to prove compliance with its standards.
Keystone struck an agreement in August to become a subsidiary of the nonprofit Washington Institute for Education and Research. WIER was founded by Ahmed Alwani, an investor and businessman in northern Virginia who also started a nonpartisan think tank focused on global policy.
Pullo said at the time that the deal offered Keystone “a viable and more secure future, something that was uncertain earlier this year.”
That was the second time the college and nonprofit explored a merger after earlier negotiations, which included a letter of intent, fell apart earlier this year.
Following the collapse of past talks with WIER, MSCHE told the college to file “substantive change request for institutional closure” paperwork. Keystone argued then that the move was merely a procedural step, which the accreditor disputed.
