National Task Force Chaired by President Chabotar Issues Final Report
November 29, 2012
The Financial Responsibility Task Force of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, chaired by President Kent Chabotar, has issued its final report after two years of work.
NAICU established the task force following the 2010 Department of Education listing of more than 100 private, nonprofit colleges that had not achieved a passing ratio score — an integral part of the federal Financial Responsibility Standards — for fiscal year 2008-09. The Chronicle of Higher Education covered the release of the report.
As reported in the Beacon in October 2010 and February 2011, the College’s score of +1.4 in 2008-09 fell just below the “passing grade” of +1.5. The score had no immediate effect on Guilford’s financial aid program.
On a scale of -1.0 to a maximum +3.0, Guilford had scored +2.2 and +3.0 the two previous years and achieved a +2.4 score for FY 2009-10. Results for FY 2010-11 have not been released. The major influence on the scores were rising and falling endowment market values and not underlying financial weaknesses.
The NAICU task force included a number of respected accounting and campus financial experts, as well as representatives from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC).
“The task force identified a series of flaws in the way the test is administered,” said David Warren, president of NAICU. “I have sent the report to the Department of Education, and hope we can work collaboratively with them to improve the process for all parties.”
“The level of expert advice that the task force volunteers brought to this process was extraordinary. I want to acknowledge the deep debt of gratitude we all have to those who so generously shared their time and expertise in exploring the issues documented in this report.
